EATONVILLE, Fla. – There are still many firsts happening in Black communities, even in the oldest Black incorporated municipality in the country, Eatonville, Florida.
First chartered by the National Credit Union Administration in December 2021, Unity Of Eatonville Federal Credit Union became a free-standing first for the town with a grand opening in October 2022.
Unity of Eatonville FCU is bringing financial empowerment to a town that’s been established since 1887, but up until 2021 when the credit union was chartered, had been financially underserved.
The location on Kennedy Boulevard in the heart of Eatonville was donated by Macedonia Baptist Church, whose members are also a big source of membership for the credit union.
“This is a space that has been renovated and redone, its a sense of pride,” said branch manager, James Rivera.
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The credit union’s history personally resonates with Rivera, who remembers growing up with a credit union account supported by many members of his own hometown church.
“It’s a nice full circle, where I can be a part of a community that really has been underserved,” Rivera said. “It’s mind-blowing it has taken this long, you want to give kudos to Pastor Barnes and his vision and the initiative to get it started.”
“I think it takes a long time because the income was not here, just like why don’t they have a grocery store here, it was not ready for it,” Pastor Willie C. Barnes of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, explained.
Pastor Barnes had a vision to help build a credit union for the people of Eatonville providing missing, but crucial financial resources to a low-income community where the average median income is around $30,000 a year.
“We’re trying to change the face. We’re trying to change the culture. This community can strive like any other, just give it a chance. And we take a risk, that’s what its all about. We walk by faith, we put this forward because we believe it can be a potential blessing,” Barnes said.
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Unity of Eatonville is ‘counting’ on building a strong financial foundation and adding more services beyond savings and loan, to include checking accounts, mortgage and commercial lending. There are currently more than 200 members with a goal to double that by year’s end through reaching every member of the community.
“It’s exciting to have people come in, help them work through things, the challenges individuals may have, and to gain trust,” Rivera said.
“If we maintain the kind of course that will sustain the credit union, (it) will develop a cash flow that can give people assistance and help people along. I think it would change tremendously the attitude of this town, I really do,” Pastor Barnes said.
The credit union plans to offer financial literacy programs for all ages as part of the approach to greater financial freedom for people who live, work, worship, attend school, or serve in Eatonville.
It’s open five days a week, including Sundays, in an effort to support members from local churches.
Learn more here.
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