Community

We're thankful to partner with various community organizations to spread the 'People Helping People' mission outside of our branch walls and throughout the areas we serve by focusing on education, engagement, and growth opportunities.

• Education: Providing information and resources from trusted community partners.
• Engagement: Sharing information about and participating in opportunities to give back to the areas we serve.
• Growth: Responsibly participating in CDFI grant opportunities to help cultivate a growing, healthy local economy.
   

As a CDFI credit union, TN Members 1st regularly applies for funding in the form of grants with the CDFI Fund to help cultivate a growing, healthy local economy. During this process, potential partners are identified and included in the grant application to strengthen the overall application and increase the chances of securing funding for our community. Our grant-based partners have no formal commitment or obligations if the credit union receives a grant. In the event a grant is funded, grant-based partners would be highlighted in a press release and digital communication opportunities. Grant initiatives and partner needs vary and may not be applicable to all partners during each application cycle. The credit union will provide general information and an application summary draft to assist potential partners in determining their support and inclusion in grant initiatives. 

General partnerships provide an ongoing opportunity for a referral-style presence on the TN Members 1st Commitment to Community webpage, found at mymembersfirst.org/community, along with regular promotion focused on educational information and engagement opportunities. In addition, community partners are included on the credit union’s list of preferred organizations for planned annual organizational giving.

Promote your organization at one of our Tennessee Members 1st branch locations by hosting a resource/promotional table. Locations available:

• Oak Ridge Branch, 112 Administration Rd, Oak Ridge TN 37830
• Knoxville Branch, 112 MarketPlace Blvd, Knoxville TN 37922

Months available to host:

• February
• April
• June
• July
• August
• October

Deadlines:

• Desired date for the promotional table display provided to marketing@fcumail.org at least 15 business days prior to the desired event date. Failure to send content by the required date may result in the unavailability of the Annual Participation opportunity.

Cost:

• No funds are required by the Community Partner to participate in this opportunity.

Credit Union will provide:

• 6-foot table
• Up to three chairs for Community Partner staff.
• Wi-Fi Connection
• A member of our marketing department will be on site during your promotional table event to provide support; however, they will not represent the Community Partner or provide information on behalf of the Community Partner.

Community Partner will provide:

• Table staffing
• Displays can include tabletop display; interactive display; free-standing display; giveaways, raffles, and/or door prizes; information on organization and/or resources; donation forms and/or opportunities to donate.
• Desired date for the promotional table display provided to marketing@fcumail.org at least 15 business days prior to the desired event date. Failure to send content by the required date may result in the unavailability of the Annual Participation opportunity.

Limits and Disclaimers:

• 6 available per year, limit 2 per Community Partner.
• 2-hour max time frame during posted branch lobby hours.
• The table must be staffed with an employee or volunteer of the Community Partner.
• A TN Members 1st FCU marketing staff member will be on-site during your promotional table time but will not be responsible for any setup or tear down of your materials.
• Any drawings, giveaways, raffles, etc. are the sole responsibility of the Community Partner and TN Members 1st FCU will not make announcements, collect information, or reach out to winners on behalf of Community Partners. There is no requirement to provide drawings, giveaways, raffles, etc.
• Please note, no electricity will be provided and all table displays should be appropriate for all ages.
• The requested time must be within posted credit union branch lobby hours.

Send a promotional eBlast to our membership list. Dates and Deadlines:

• Months Available:
  • April
  • July
  • September
  • November

Desired content for the eblast must be sent to marketing@fcumail.org and received no later than 7 business days before the preferred send date. Failure to send content by the required date may result in the unavailability of the Annual Participation opportunity.

Cost:

• No funds are required by the Community Partner to participate in this opportunity.

Credit Union Will Provide:

• List size - will be provided to the Community Partner when a specific date is scheduled (to ensure the best accuracy).
• Email results report - will be provided to the Community Partner via email 7 business days after the promotional eBlast send date.

Community Partner Will Provide:

• Desired email Subject Line
• URL links to landing pages
• Information should be provided in a way that allows 'as is' creation of the eBlast in the TN Members 1st FCU Constant Contact email system. The credit union will not create, search for, or request additional information in order to successfully create an eBlast. Acceptable formats include:
  • Copy and images sent via email that can be input to the Constant Contact system to email as-is
  • PDF flyer that can be uploaded and emailed as-is
  • HTML custom code that can be input to the Constant Contact system to email as-is
• Desired content for the eblast must be sent to marketing@fcumail.org and received no later than 7 business days before the preferred send date. Failure to send content by the required date may result in the unavailability of the Annual Participation opportunity.

Limits and Disclaimers:

• 4 available per year, limit 1 per Community Partner.
• Any drawings, giveaways, raffles, etc. are the sole responsibility of the Community Partner and TN Members 1st FCU will not make announcements, collect information, or reach out to winners on behalf of Community Partners. There is no requirement to provide drawings, giveaways, raffles, etc.
   

Send a promotional printed insert to our credit union members, included in their monthly mailed statements. General Reach:

• 2,100 printed statements.

Dates and Deadlines:

• Months Available:
  • February, content due to TN Members 1st marketing department on or before January 5, 2024.
  • June, content due to TN Members 1st marketing department on or before May 10, 2024.
  • August, content due to TN Members 1st marketing department on or before July 5, 2024.
  • October, content due to TN Members 1st marketing department on or before September 6, 2024.
• Materials must be provided to the TN Members 1st marketing department by the end of the first week of the month prior to the month in which the insert will be received. Ex. You receive a February Statement Insert Annual Participation opportunity, your materials must be received by the TN Members 1st marketing department on or before January 5.

Cost: 

• Printing and shipping to our statement distributor is the responsibility of the Community Partner.

Community Partners Must Provide:

• Digital copy of the desired statement insert to TN Members 1st FCU marketing department for approval BEFORE sending to statement distributor.

Credit Union Will Provide:

• Shipping instructions for drop shipping insert to statement distributor.

Limits and Disclaimers:

• 4 available per year, limit 1 per Community Partner.
• Print and ship deadlines apply, postage to ship to the statement provider is the responsibility of the Community Partner.
• Any drawings, giveaways, raffles, etc. are the sole responsibility of the Community Partner and TN Members 1st FCU will not make announcements, collect information, or reach out to winners on behalf of Community Partners. There is no requirement to provide drawings, giveaways, raffles, etc.
• The insert must: fit in a 6X9 envelope, and be a single page (can be double-sided).

Include a digital promotional banner in our member eStatement notifications. Size:

• 600X250

General Reach:

• 1,300 eStatements

Dates and Deadlines:

• Months available:
• February
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November

• Materials must be received by TN Members 1st marketing department by the 15th of the month prior to when your eStatement banner will appear. Ex. You receive a February eStatement Banner Annual Participation opportunity, your materials must be received by the TN Members 1st marketing department on or before January 15.

Cost:

• No funds are required by the Community Partner to participate in this opportunity.

Community Partner Must Provide:

• Information should be provided in a way that allows 'as is' creation of the banner in the TN Members 1st FCU eStatement notification. TN Members 1st FCU will not create, search for, or request additional information in order to successfully create a banner. Acceptable formats include:
  • PNG
  • JPEG
  • EPS
     
• URL links to desired landing page(s) for banner content.

Limits and Disclaimers:

• 9 available per year, limit 2 per Community Partner.
• Banner content requires TN Members 1st FCU approval before sending to our membership eStatement notification addresses.
• Any drawings, giveaways, raffles, etc. are the sole responsibility of the Community Partner and TN Members 1st FCU will not make announcements, collect information, or reach out to winners on behalf of Community Partners. There is no requirement to provide drawings, giveaways, raffles, etc.

Have a member of the TN Members 1st marketing department come in and facilitate an organization-specific financial education event at your location or a location of your choosing. In order to ensure that TN Members 1st would be presenting the appropriate information to the correct audience, we highly encourage the requesting organization include all relevant and important information in the submission form including the age of the participants and which specific financial topics we may need to discuss. After this submission, Tennessee Members 1st may personally reach out to a Community Partner to confirm specific event details and criteria.

Dates and Deadlines:

• Months Available:
  • February
  • April
  • May
  • ]June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
     
• The Financial Education Event form must be completed at least 30 days prior to the desired event date.

Limits and Disclaimers:

• 4 available per year, limit 1 per Community Partner.
• If an organization completes the event request form less than 30 days prior to the event, the request may be subject to denial.
• If an organization has not been in communication with Tennessee Members 1st regarding event specifics after the request submission; the request may be subject to denial.
• If an organization cannot provide event specifics or specifics do not comply with Tennessee Members 1st capacity, the request may be subject to denial.
• Each submission request and each organization’s event needs may vary. Tennessee Members 1st is not obligated to provide: promotional items, and/ or giveaways for any Financial Education Event.

Have TN Members 1st share a social media post specific to an event, fundraising, or volunteer opportunity of your Organization. Social Media requests may be submitted for the following reasons:

• Promote fundraising
• Promote organization programs, services
• Organization/brand awareness
• Encourage volunteer opportunities

Dates and Deadlines:

• Social Media requests must be submitted via the Social Media Request Formon the Community Partnership Hub page and/or on the Annual Participation form and received by the TN Members 1st marketing department 7 business days before the desired post date.

The required fields include:

• Organization name
• Website link
• Intended social platform
• Platform handles
• Type of content
• Desired postdate
• Requested content of the post
• Attached files

Limits and Disclaimers:

• 36 available per year, limit 4 per Community Partner.
• Any drawings, giveaways, raffles, etc. are the sole responsibility of the Community Partner and TN Members 1st FCU will not make announcements, collect information, or reach out to winners on behalf of Community Partners. There is no requirement to provide drawings, giveaways, raffles, etc.
• Community Partners are limited to a maximum of 3 photos and/or 1 video per social media request submission. Dates for submission may be available at any time during the calendar year.
• Each submission must include an authorized representative to contact, and each organization must also check off the consent to post box at the bottom of the submission request, confirming and allowing Tennessee Members 1st to post desired content.
• Submissions that are not completed in full, are inappropriate, submitted 48hrs before desired postdate, or conflict with another scheduled social media post, maybe subject to denial.
• Content for Social Media requests submitted to Tennessee members 1st must be ready to post AS-IS.