Investing in the People Who Build Arizona: Why Credit Unions Matter More Than You Think
When we talk about choosing local, we usually think about where we shop, eat and spend our time. But there’s another choice with enormous potential to shape Arizona’s economy: where we bank.
Credit unions are an important part of a strong local economy because they are built differently. As member-owned nonprofit financial institutions, they exist to serve their members rather than outside shareholders. Earnings can be returned to members through lower loan rates, fewer fees and higher savings yields, while decisions about lending and investment remain closely connected to the communities they serve.
That local connection matters.
Credit unions expand access to capital and help individuals and business owners build the financial knowledge and relationships they need to grow.
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Borrowing money can help a business grow — but only when the timing, terms and purpose make sense.
Local First Arizona’s free Loan Readiness Boot Camp, offered in partnership with the Coalition of Arizona’s Credit Unions, helps business owners understand what lenders look for, what debt really means for their business and how to decide whether financing supports their goals.
Learn how lending works. Evaluate your options. Use capital strategically — on your own terms.
When those resources help a local business start, expand or hire, the impact doesn’t stop with that business. It moves through the economy in the form of jobs, local spending, tax revenue and new opportunities.
At Local First Arizona, we see that impact firsthand.
Credit unions have become important partners in initiatives including our Loan Readiness Boot Camp and business accelerator programs, where financial professionals help Arizona entrepreneurs better understand business banking, financial management, lending and strategies for sustainable growth.
That shared commitment is also behind Local First Arizona’s recently announced partnership with Arizona Credit Unions, a coalition of locally based credit unions working to advance financial literacy, strengthen local businesses and help more Arizonans understand the connection between where they bank and the strength of their local economy.
What Local Investment Looks Like
Few partnerships demonstrate that connection better than Local First Arizona’s work with Arizona Financial Credit Union.
Since 2021, Arizona Financial has partnered with Local First Arizona’s We Rise Business Accelerator, a no-fee, six-month program that provides Arizona’s Black entrepreneurs with practical business education, mentorship and connections to resources and capital.
The program culminates in Demo Day, when entrepreneurs pitch their businesses before a panel of judges and compete for the Kelvin Smith Small Business Grant, underwritten by Arizona Financial Credit Union.
The grant does more than provide a financial boost to a growing business. It honors a man whose own commitment to local business and community helped shape Arizona Financial.
Kelvin Smith served on Arizona Financial’s board for 27 years, advocating for the interests of its member-owners and championing local businesses throughout his career. Following his death in 2023, Arizona Financial established the grant in his honor — carrying his commitment forward by investing directly in entrepreneurs building the next generation of Arizona businesses.
“Thanks to our collaboration with Arizona Financial, we are opening doors to funding and networks for entrepreneurs who have traditionally lacked such critical resources”
And a few years into the Kelvin Smith Small Business Grant, the impact of that investment is becoming easier to see.
Since the first Demo Day awards in 2023, We Rise entrepreneurs have put their prize funding to work in businesses across Arizona — expanding products and services, reaching new customers, investing in infrastructure and creating new opportunities in their communities.
Charlotte Bowens of Conscious Gear
Photo Credit: ASU News
Charlotte Bowens of Conscious Gear used her 2023 award to expand production of VestaPak, her hydration vest designed for plus-size outdoor and endurance athletes. The product later reached the shelves of REI in Chandler, the first REI location to carry it.
Fellow 2023 winner Brittny Johnson invested in improved packaging for her handcrafted body care company, Trades of Brit, whose products are now sold in five Arizona retail locations.
The ripple effects have continued with subsequent cohorts.
After receiving an award in 2024, Jamila Graham of ndur Athletics expanded her product offerings and established a small storefront to increase the brand’s visibility. She has since identified a local supplier that will allow the company to offer a wider range of sizes and reach more customers.
Michelle Fort of Holy Hands Painters
In 2025, grand prize winner Agnes Adams invested in marketing and a new learning management system for Yond Institute of Learning while advancing the nursing assistant school’s state accreditation and developing two new programs. Second-place winner Michelle Fort of Holy Hands Painters has since secured a City of Phoenix contract and used the momentum from Demo Day to prepare her business for additional financing, hiring and growth.
Other winners have expanded services, launched new products and even created new spaces for their communities. The outcomes look different because the businesses are different. But they demonstrate the same idea: access to capital at the right moment can give an entrepreneur the ability to take the next step — and that step can lead to another.
That is the larger value of Arizona Financial’s investment in We Rise.
The Demo Day awards provide entrepreneurs with capital they can put to work immediately. But the partnership also connects business owners with financial professionals, expertise and relationships that can help them navigate what comes next.
And perhaps nowhere is the meaning of that investment clearer than in Fort’s reflection on the man whose name the award carries.
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Although she never had the opportunity to meet Kelvin Smith, Fort said participating in We Rise gave her a connection to his legacy.
“I feel like through this journey, his legacy, and the We Rise program … I’ve met him now,” she said.
That may be the most fitting measure of what Smith left behind. His legacy isn’t simply commemorated by an award bearing his name. It lives on every time another entrepreneur gets the capital, confidence and connections to build something stronger — and creates opportunities for others along the way.
Credit unions may not be the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about building a stronger local economy. But where our money lives matters just as much as where we spend it.
Arizona Financial Credit Union, and the other members of Arizona Credit Unions, have demonstrated what that can mean in practice: showing up, sharing expertise and putting capital directly behind local entrepreneurs.
Because strong local economies need more than local businesses.
They need local financial institutions willing to invest in them.