Member dividends were created as a way to give back to members who choose Desjardins. In the last few years, Desjardins has made changes to make member dividends more fair and more accessible.
What are member dividends?
Member dividends are a reflection of Desjardins' cooperative difference, and one of the advantages of being a caisse member. They're amounts that come out of caisse and Desjardins Group year-end surplus earnings, paid out to personal and business members under certain conditions. Some of these surplus earnings are also used to finance local community projects.
How do member dividends work?
There are 2 categories of member dividends: volume dividends and product dividends.
Volume dividends
The amount of your volume dividend is based on your business volume in each of the following 3 product lines:
- Accounts
- Loans and credit
- Savings and investments
Your volume dividend amount is calculated according to your average balance in each product line throughout the last year. You earn a rate on every $1,000 in volume based on the outcome of the members' vote.
Product dividends (personal members)
The maximum amount of the product dividend is $50. To qualify, you must have had at least 1 eligible product throughout the last year in each of the following 3 product lines:
- Accounts
- Cards, loans and credit
- Savings and investments
Product dividends reward your loyalty and engagement.
Community dividends
Another reflection of Desjardins' cooperative nature is our members' commitment to fostering social change. One way they do this is by paying dividends back to the community. These dividends help caisses support local projects through their Community Development Fund. In Ontario, we were able to give back 12,8 M$ in member and community dividends for 2020.
Some projects supported in 2020 in the Sudbury region:
Cinefest Sudbury
Place des arts de Sudbury
Food Banks
Neo Kids Foundation
Laurentian University
Many scholarships
For more information visit www.desjardins.com/dividends or check out the video below.