The year was 1935, the height of the Great Depression, and eight John Deere Harvester Works employees came up with a better way for ordinary people to borrow money. 
 

Like many Americans of that era, they didn’t trust big banks. But they did trust each other. So they each decided to contribute five bucks into a pool. Any of them could ask to borrow from that pool as needed—and pay it back at a lower rate than any bank would ever offer. 
 

That was the start of the Deere Harvester Credit Union, the financial institution known today as Vibrant. Those eight original members have grown to more than 50,000, and that $40 into more than $1 billion in assets. 

 

But our fundamental approach to business hasn’t changed. We still value people over profits. We still believe everyone deserves the chance to achieve their dreams. And we never stop looking for better ways to help our members to do the things they want to do.