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On October 8, Maine Harvest FCU will celebrate its official opening with a special ribbon cutting event at their new facility, located at 69 School Street in Unity, Maine. Representatives from the League, Maine’s congressional delegation, and Governor Mills will be in attendance to welcome Maine’s newest credit union.
“The days when the local farmer knew their local banker are over but we plan to change that,” says founder Scott Budde. “Maine Harvest will be able to meet farmers’ needs because we intimately understand the nuances of agricultural lending.”
Chartered and regulated by the NCUA, Maine Harvest will create four new jobs in central Maine and will soon serve over 100 small farmers and food producers – deploying over $12M in loans within the next six years. The founders are former Wall Street professionals who, over the last six years raised $2.4M in philanthropic capital and drafted a 1,000 page application to successfully gain a federal charter.
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, the granddaughter of Franklin Delano Roosevelt will make the first deposit. In 1934, FDR signed the Federal Credit Union Act, regulating credit unions here in the United States.
“It is an exciting time for the credit union movement here in Maine,” said Todd Mason, President/CEO of the Maine Credit Union League. “Our state has deep agricultural roots and I am pleased we can serve as the home to the nation’s first credit union dedicated to food producers and farmers.”
Maine Harvest is one of two credit unions chartered by the NCUA in 2019.