Community First, since 1959, has been Doing Good!
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Shred Days
Clearlake:
Thursday, May 19th
Lakeport:
Thursday, June 2nd
Napa:
Saturday, June 18th
Fort Bragg:
Thursday, June 30th
Ukiah:
Friday, July 1st
Sebastopol:
Friday, July 8th
Santa Rosa:
Saturday, July 9th
Novato:
Saturday, July 23rd
All Shred Days are
from 9a to 11a.
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It’s Financial Literacy Month!
April is Financial Literacy Month and a great time to establish new healthy financial habits. An ongoing goal of ours is to instill consistent saving habits at a young age.
Community First was founded by LOCAL teachers in 1959, and since then has kept its educator roots. Throughout the years, CFCU’ers have taught financial literacy classes to thousands of LOCAL students in-class, virtually, and through our free online program, Banzai. In these classes, students learn healthy spending, savings, and borrowing methods, among other topics.
But the best way to learn healthy financial habits is through real-life practice. Our out-of-this-world-rate YouthSaver account, available to anyone under the age of 18, teaches kids to work for their money, and then see their money work for them.
How? Local kids can earn up to 7.07% (APY) with our YouthSaver account – when coupled with an adult’s Local Advantage PLUS checking account. The rate is 1.01% as a stand-alone, which is still 100 times higher than what the big banks pay!
And for LOCAL AG students, Community First, offers a zero percent, zero fee, Youth AG loan of up to $2,500! The loan is typically used to buy, feed, shelter, care for, and then sell a market animal at one of our local fairs in Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma counties.
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Annual Meeting of the Membership, April 20 (3p)
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The 63rd edition of the Annual Meeting of the Members of Community First Credit Union will take place (virtually) on Wednesday, April 20 at 3p.
What will you see, hear, and learn? Board Chair Carolyn Welch will summarize the year that was, and CEO Scott Johnson will report about your credit union’s finances, outreach, and what additional services you can expect in the near future. There will be elections for three Board Members, and two Supervisors, with results to follow quickly. Each will be confirmed to a three-year term.
How to join in? Easy. The link to the meeting will be prominently displayed on the home page of the CFCU website (www.comfirstcu.org) on the day of (and day before) the virtual meeting.
A credit union is a Member-owned cooperative, making you a part-owner. It is vital that a democracy (which we are) has participation. We hope you can join us!
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Scholarship Deadlines Approaching
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The Girl Effect Scholarship is open. This scholarship is to support young entrepreneurial girls with a great idea, project, or community program that is making or will make an impact in Sonoma County.
Community First will award a $2,500 scholarship to two Sonoma County senior girls who tell us about their entrepreneurial idea and how it will benefit their local community.
The scholarship application and details can be found here.
The scholarship deadline is May 1, 2022.
The Arlene Colombini Scholarship is available to all graduating high school seniors in Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma counties. CFCU will be awarding seven $1,000 scholarships for the 2022-23 school year.
Students must have a current 3.0 minimum GPA and have been accepted to a two- or four-year college. Students are chosen based on a criterion, along with a personal statement that describes their need for this scholarship and their goals in life.
The scholarship deadline is April 8, 2022.
For more details and to download the application click here.
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An IRA is a marathon. Take the first step.
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Whether you’re planning on growing your career for a few more decades or you’re nearing retirement, an IRA can earn you tax benefits as well as give your savings a boost.
Community First offers both Traditional and ROTH IRAs and you can start with as little as $100!
A Traditional IRA allows you to defer taxes on your earnings until those earnings are withdrawn.
A Roth IRA features tax-free withdrawals for certain distribution reasons 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
Tax Day is April 18 this year – the last day you can make a 2021 IRA contribution.
Take the first step and learn more about IRAs by visiting any of our local branches, or by visiting comfirstcu.org.
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A Cash-Out Home Loan Could be Right for You
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What’s a cash-out home loan? It’s a cash-out refinance. It’s when you take out a new home loan to consolidate old debt, remodel your kitchen, pay off student loans, a second mortgage, book your dream vacation … the possibilities are endless.
Homes have appreciated over the past few years, which means your home today is most likely worth a lot more than it was just 24 to 36 months ago. This means you can tap into the equity of your home’s new higher value.
Want to learn more about our cash-out home loans? Or about our other home loan products? Reach out to your LOCAL Mortgage Loan Officer. They’re home loan experts who can talk you through every step of the way and answer any question you may have.
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707-546-6000
PO Box 6004,
Santa Rosa, CA 95406
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