Throughout the past 10 years, leaders at Delta Community Credit Union said they have seen interest in financial education topics shift alongside economic conditions. Budgeting workshops tend to draw more interest during financially challenging periods, while homebuying education becomes more popular when interest rates are higher.
The credit union has been celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Financial Education Center, launched in 2016 as a centralized hub for workshops, financial tools and educational resources for metro Atlanta residents.
The center is a free community resource designed to help metro Atlanta residents make major financial decisions. Since its creation, the center has delivered more than 2,000 workshops spanning 116 topics and reaching more than 60,000 participants. The Financial Education Center has received more than 20 awards, including five Desjardins National Awards recognizing its leadership in expanding access to financial education.
"Our Financial Education Center reflects our ongoing commitment to empower people with the skills and knowledge to reach their financial goals," Hank Halter, Delta Community's CEO, said. "It is our honor to have supported thousands of metro Atlanta residents as they prepared for important financial milestones, and we look forward to helping many more through this valuable resource."
Jai Rogers-Thomas, vice president of business and community development for Delta Community, said throughout the past decade, the credit union has seen members' interest in financial topics shift alongside the broader economic environment. Overall, the most popular topics the center sees among members are budgeting, investing, retirement and first-time homebuying, she said.
"For example, during more challenging times, we've seen increased demand for budgeting and money management workshops, while periods of higher interest rates tend to drive more focus on home buying," Rogers-Thomas said. "At the same time, there's been consistently strong interest in workshops related to life stages – whether it's graduating college, getting married, starting a family or preparing for retirement. Those workshops provide beneficial financial information for key milestones and continue to resonate with both our members and the broader community year after year."
Rogers-Thomas said through the Financial Education Center, the credit union stays closely attuned to these shifts and adapts its offerings to meet the needs of families and individuals, and that during the past 10 years, the center has significantly expanded its reach and how it delivers financial education.
"As the credit union's membership has grown, so has the Financial Education Center's footprint. We now serve 20 counties across metro Atlanta and have strengthened partnerships with local schools and community organizations," Rogers-Thomas said.
One example of this was the center's work with Junior Achievement.
"We've established educational programs in two JA Centers, where we deliver age-appropriate financial simulations to middle school students," Rogers-Thomas said. "Our Cool Cash Camps, a summer financial education workshop for children and teens, have also remained a cornerstone of our program, traveling to different communities across metro Atlanta each summer to deliver hands-on learning experiences directly in neighborhoods across the region."
The center is also working to meet the growing demand for digital learning, she said.
"In addition to our virtual workshops, our online platform offers accessible, user-friendly resources tailored to members' needs, complemented by social media initiatives like our 'Insightful Tips' short video series, which provides quick, practical guidance on building healthy money habits," Rogers-Thomas said.
Delta Community was founded in 1940 and is Georgia's largest credit union with more than $8.9 billion in assets, 530,000 members, 31 metro Atlanta branches and three out-of-state branches. It welcomes anyone living or working in metro Atlanta as well as employees of more than 140 businesses including Delta Air Lines, Chick-fil-A, RaceTrac and UPS.
Joyce Moed can be reached at joyce.moed@arc-network.com.
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