Community First, since 1959, has been Doing Good!
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IRAs are a great way to save LOCALLY
An Individual Retirement Account is a great way to save. Plus, why go through some Wall Street mega-bank when you can keep your money working for you at your hometown financial co-op?
Community First has IRAs as individual as you are. We offer both Traditional and Roth IRAs.
A Traditional IRA allows you to defer taxes on your earnings until those earnings are withdrawn. Additionally, certain contributions are likely tax deductible in the year they are made. Therefore: double savings!
A Roth IRA features tax-free withdrawals for most distributions after a five-year holding period. Since Roth IRA contributions are non-deductible and taxed when they are earned, Members who expect to be in a higher tax bracket when they retire may benefit more from a Roth than a Traditional IRA. Also, unlike a Traditional IRA, there is no requirement to being taking distribution at age 70 ½.
Both Traditional and Roth IRAs allow you to begin withdrawals without penalties at age 59 ½.
How to get started? Stop by your nearest branch of Community First, or contact our locally staffed Call Center (707/546-6000).
- Minimum of $100 to open an IRA
- Contribute via “lump sums” or by regular deposits
- Dividends are paid monthly
- Annual account maintenance fee is only $5 (CFCU has reporting requirements to the IRS)
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One Girl Can Make a Difference
The “Girl Effect” Scholarship
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In 2020, we met Sonoma County high school senior Chloe Cullen who inspired us with her "Girl Effect" fundraising campaign to sponsor girls’ education in Rwanda. Together, we decided to take her idea, bring it to our local community and launch The Girl Effect Scholarship - Sonoma County style!
Do you know an entrepreneurial girl with a great idea or project making an impact in Sonoma County? Whether it's in the arts, STEM, or humanities, we want to hear from her!
We are looking for high school senior girls who are doers, thinkers and go-getters - girls who possess an entrepreneurial spirit, have become leaders, have a great idea or have started a community program and/or business.
Community First will award four local Sonoma County high school senior girls a $2,500 scholarship for the 2021-2022 school year.
The facts show, The GIRL EFFECT is REAL! Girls create a ripple effect. They graduate, start businesses, become CEOs, and become leaders in their communities! In 2019, 42% of all firms were female owned, and women started 1,817 businesses a day. We'd like to help grow those numbers LOCALLY. We start, this year, in Sonoma County!
Applications open March 1st.
Find out more about the scholarship and application details here.
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Five Positions Up for Re-Election to Board or Supervisory Committee |
Community First Credit Union is a financial co-op, which is run as a democracy. The 60,000-plus Members of this credit union are represented by the Board and Supervisors they elect at the annual meeting each spring. The 2021 meeting will take place April 15, but due to expected COVID restrictions, participation will very likely be online only.
This year there are three Board Members and two Supervisors up for re-election to new three-year terms. All positions are voluntary and without pay, but they do get to help shape the direction of this growing LOCAL credit union.
Although each incumbent on the Board and Supervisory Committee will be running to retain their respective seat, we encourage anyone interested in serving to contact the Nominating Committee.
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Nominating Committee queries: email to director@comfirstcu.org
- Application: needs to be completed and postmarked no later than Friday, February 19.
- Application must be sent to: Community First Nominating Committee, PO Box 6004, Santa Rosa, CA. 95406-0004
Pictured above: CEO, Todd Sheffield and Board Chair, John Burke at the 2020 Virtual Meeting of the Membership.
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Do Good for Yourself This Year
Join the Do Gooder Club
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New year, new financial goals. Every year, millions of people take the new year as an opportunity to set resolutions. Among the most set goals each year are to “save more money” or “spend less.” At Community First you do both, just by being a Member.
But if you are a heavy user of banking services that incur a fee, then our Do Gooder Club is for you!
The Do Gooder Club eliminates most fees, deducts $250 off first-mortgage processing, earns you 0.10% higher rate on a share CD, and offers credit protection – alerts, reports, credit score and more!
At Community First, we don’t mark up fees like the for-profit banks. We merely recover the cost, which is fair for you, and no Member subsidizes the other. Further, we have fewer fees to begin with. Example: Wells Fargo’s fee schedule is 50 pages. By contrast, our cost-recovery items fit on one page! Nonetheless, here is your opportunity to eliminate a slew of cost-recovery items …
This year, save your hard-earned money by joining the Do Gooder Club, and eliminate recurring fees for only $8 a month, or only $4 a month with a LOCAL Advantage PLUS checking account, or FREE with loan balances totaling $25,000 or FREE with deposits (savings + checking + money market) totaling $50,000.
Find our Do Gooder Club Application here. Just print, sign, and bring it by any branch or drop it in the mail.
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707-546-6000
PO Box 6004,
Santa Rosa, CA 95406
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