What You Need to Know About the New Federal Stimulus Payments

Last month, U.S. Congress passed a bill authorizing additional Economic Impact Payments to eligible Americans to help them pay expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. These “stimulus” payments began in early January and will continue for several weeks. Read our blog for more information on the stimulus payments and what you can expect.

2021 Philanthropic Recipients Named

We are excited to announce that we have selected our 2021 Philanthropic Fund Recipients. Throughout the year, Delta Community will be investing $125,000 into 20 organizations whose purpose is to help families manage their household finances and improve the physical and financial well-being of young people.

A Delta Community employee committee selected the 2021 Philanthropic Fund grant recipients from the many applications received last year. Among the 20 organizations to receive a grant are Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities, Children’s Museum of Atlanta, Good Shepherd Clinic, Morehouse School of Medicine and East Atlanta Kids Club.

With the award of these 2021 grants, the Delta Community Philanthropic Fund will have invested more than $725,000 in metro Atlanta non-profits since its launch in 2013. You can visit our  Philanthropic Fund page for the full list of recipients and more information on how your organization can apply for a grant.

HBCU Scholarship Presented to Morehouse College Student

In December, Delta Community and Atlanta radio station Majic 107.5/97.5 awarded the fourth and final HBCU Scholarship for the year 2020 to Keith Gabbidon, a freshman at Morehouse College.

In his first year of higher education, Keith has been a leader at school and active in his community while working part-time, volunteering at his church and maintaining A’s in all of his courses. He is a member of the school’s Protégé Program, active in the freshman LEAD Program, and he holds an internship with the SGA, the Student Governance Organization of the Morehouse College student body. This year has been particularly challenging for Keith, as his family has been directly impacted by COVID-19. His mom is a frontline healthcare worker and contracted the virus earlier this year. Keith played an integral part in her recovery, all while keeping up with his job, volunteer work and studies. His career ambition is to become an architect, which he will be able to complete through Morehouse's dual enrollment program.

Throughout 2020, we awarded a total of $10,000 in scholarships to students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the state of Georgia. The HBCU Scholarship is part of Delta Community’s annual Scholarship Program. Visit our website to learn more about all of the scholarships that we offer.

Refer Your Friends and Earn $50 with Our Refreshed Program

Delta Community’s Refer-A-Friend Program has been upgraded to simplify, personalize and streamline the process for referring your friends and family to the Credit Union. Members will now receive a personalized referral link to send to their friends and family to invite them to enjoy the benefits of membership at Delta Community. ¹ When they use your link, your friend will receive a unique promotion code to use when opening their accounts, either online or in a branch. When your referral opens an account and meets a few simple requirements, ² you can each earn a $50 cash incentive. If you participated in our previous Refer-A-Friend Program, you’re already enrolled! If not, you can easily sign up online. Visit DeltaCommunityCU.com/Refer to learn more.

Holiday Charitable Giving and Volunteering

Charitable giving and employee volunteering are very important aspects of Delta Community’s culture. We are committed to making a difference in the communities that we serve, especially around the holiday season. Here are a few ways that Delta Community has given back this season:

• House of Toys – Delta Community sponsored the third annual House of Toys event with Atlanta radio station Power 96.1. We teamed up with City of Refuge, an organization that helps individuals and families transition out of crisis, to make the holidays a little brighter for five different families. Listeners were invited to purchase toys and other items from these families’ wish lists, and all of their gifts were presented to them just before Christmas.
• Christmas in the City – Our Corporate Training and Human Resources departments supported Christmas in the City, an event by Passion-Life Church which focuses on providing children in their Malachi Project with Christmas presents. The Malachi Project gives young people a chance of a better future with tutoring, career opportunities and more. Our employees collected money to purchase gifts from their Amazon Christmas wish list.
• Atlanta Children’s Shelter Holiday House – Delta Community sponsored the Atlanta Children’s Shelter Holiday House, which offered support to homeless and low-income families in need. Our sponsorship helped two homeless families transition into permanent housing.
• MUST Ministries – Our IT department collected over $3,000 to donate to MUST Ministries, a non-profit dedicated to helping those in need of food, clothing and shelter.

If you’re seeking ways to give back in the new year, stop by any of our branches and purchase candy bars, water bottles, piggy banks and more. Purchases benefit Children's Miracle Network hospitals, which includes Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, with pediatric care, education, research and equipment.

Douglasville Branch Coming Soon

The construction of our next branch is nearly done! Delta Community recently announced that we’ve selected Douglasville as the home of our next branch location in metro Atlanta and the first in Douglas County. This new location will house full-service teller operations and a complete team of financial professionals to assist Delta Community members with their home, auto and personal loan needs. We look forward to serving our members, and welcoming new ones, with this new convenient location opening in the coming months in Douglas County.

Activate Your Bonus Reward Points

Each quarter, we offer an opportunity for participating Credit Cards to earn Bonus Reward Points for purchases in select categories from gas and groceries to restaurants and retail. Be sure to enroll each quarter to earn 2x or 3x the Reward Points on the purchases you make every day. Activate bonus categories for January through March to earn:

• 3x Reward Points for eligible purchases with Utility Companies, Insurance Services and  Cable and Satellite Vendors
• 2x Reward Points for eligible purchases at  Gas Stations and  Grocery Stores
• 1x Reward Points for every  $1 spent on eligible purchases in categories outside the bonus categories.

To activate,  log in to your account and select  Reward Points under the  Additional Services tab or under More in the Mobile App. Click the link to  Enroll for the current quarter or an upcoming quarter. When you’re ready to redeem your points, you can choose from a wide variety of Cash Back, Gift Cards, Merchandise and Travel with no blackout dates.

Take a Payment Holiday

Did you know that you may be eligible for a Payment Holiday? Skip your eligible loan payments, ³ and keep some extra cash in your pockets after the holidays. Here are some key things to know before requesting your Payment Holiday:

• Loans must be open for a minimum of six months to be eligible.
• Real Estate Loans, Business Loans, Overdraft Protection, Holiday Loans, Consumer Lines of Credit, Visa® Young Adult and Secured Credit Cards and single-pay loans are not eligible for this offer.
• Payment Holiday may be requested up to the payment date ⁴ via Online Banking. All loans that are eligible for a Payment Holiday will be displayed.
• Interest will continue to accrue, your normal payment will resume the following month and your loan maturity date will be extended, if applicable.

To request a Payment Holiday, simply  log in to Online Banking and select  Payment Holiday from the  Loans tab.

Financial Education Center Seminars

Delta Community’s comprehensive  Financial Education Center is designed to improve the financial lives of our members and community by offering resources on a variety of topics from budgeting to protecting your identity. Every month we offer members several free workshops. Upcoming online workshops include:

• January 1: Basics of Personal Finance by BALANCE | On-Demand Webinar
• January 13: Basics of Budgeting | Live Webinar
• January 20: Digital Money Management | Live Webinar
• January 26: The Psychology of Spending | Live Webinar
• January 28: Serious About Saving | Live Webinar

Check our Events & Seminars page for more information on upcoming seminars.