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 by hosting an unstaffed resource/promotional table for one week (five business days) at one of our Tennessee Members 1st branch locations. Community Partners can also choose two hours during one day of their promotional table week to be physically on-site promoting their organization. The additional staffed on-site promotion is not a requirement of participating in this Annual Participation opportunity.

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 dates for the promotional table display provided to marketing@fcumail.org at least 15 business days prior to the desired event date. Failure to send the desired date with enough notice 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
• Daily monitoring and clean up of table items to ensure information and items are organized and easy to access.
• If the Community Partner chooses a two-hour window to host a staffed table during their promotional week, the credit union will also provide:
  • Up to three chairs for Community Partner staff.
  • Wi-Fi Connection
  • A member of our marketing department to 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 display items - items must be brought to and picked up from the desired branch location. It is up to the Community Partner if they would like to set up the information or provide the information for a credit union marketing staff member to set up. If the Community Partner will be setting up their promotional table, it must be done during posted branch lobby hours and can be done up to one business day before the agreed upon week-long (five business day) promotional period. 
• 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 dates. Failure to send content by the required date may result in the unavailability of the Annual Participation opportunity.

Limits and Disclaimers:

• 6 total opportunities available per year, limit 2 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.
• Please note, no electricity will be provided and all table displays should be appropriate for all ages.
• The Community Partner must have plans arranged to pick up their materials at the end of their promotional week. If they are unable to make it to pick up materials until after the promotional week, a credit union marketing staff member will carefully take down the display at the close of business on the 5th day and store it in the AVP of Marketing's office for pick up.
• If the Community Partner chooses a two-hour window to host a staffed table during their promotional week, they are limited to a 2-hour max time frame during posted branch lobby hours.
• If the Community Partner chooses a two-hour window to host a staffed table during their promotional week, the table must be staffed by an employee or volunteer of the Community Partner.
• If the Community Partner chooses a two-hour window to host a staffed table during their promotional week, 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.
• If the Community Partner chooses a two-hour window to host a staffed table during their promotional week, 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 total opportunities 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 10, 2025.
  • June, content due to TN Members 1st marketing department on or before May 9, 2025.
  • August, content due to TN Members 1st marketing department on or before July 11, 2025.
  • October, content due to TN Members 1st marketing department on or before September 12, 2025.
• Materials must be provided to the TN Members 1st marketing department by the end of the first full 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 10.

Cost: 

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

Community Partners Must Provide:

• Digital copy of the desired statement insert to TN Members 1st FCU marketing department for approval and delivery to statement provider.

Credit Union Will Provide:

• Instructions for providing content to the credit union.
• Delivery to statement provider for inclusion in statement print run.

Limits and Disclaimers:

• 4 total opportunities 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.
• The insert must:
  • Fit in a 6X9 envelope
  • Be a single page (can be double-sided)
  • Allow for .125 inch margins on all sides (necessary for printing and shipping tracking information printed on statements)
  • Be in one of the following formats: 
    • EPS 
    • PNG
    • JPG
    • PDF

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
  • PDF
• URL links to desired landing page(s) for banner content.

Limits and Disclaimers:

• 9 total opportunities 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 total opportunities available per year, limit 1 per Community Partner.
• If an organization completes the event request form less than 30 days before 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 and/or services
• Organization/brand awareness
• Encourage volunteer opportunities

Dates and Deadlines:

Months Available: 

• January
• February
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November

Social media requests must be submitted via the Social Media Request Form on 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
• Desired website link for call to action
• Intended social platform
• Organization's platform handles
• Type of content
• Desired post date
• Requested content of the post
• Attached files

Limits and Disclaimers:

• 36 total opportunities available per year, limit 4 per Community Partner.
• Any drawings, giveaways, raffles, etc. are the sole responsibility of the Community Partner. 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 48 hours before the desired postdate, or conflict with another scheduled social media post, may be subject to denial.
• Content for Social Media requests submitted to Tennessee Members 1st must be ready to post AS-IS.
• Community Partner social media posts will be provided a five calendar day exclusivity buffer before and after their confirmed, desired date. Ex. You submit and receive confirmation of social media for January 10, 2025. There will be no other posts provided by other Community Partners from January 6, 2024, to January 15, 2024. The credit union reserves the right to post about events and activities sponsored by and involving the credit union during the buffer timeframe.
• TN Members 1st FCU will not post Community Partner provided posts on social media from 10 calendar days before the federally recognized Thanksgiving holiday to 10 calendar days after the federally recognized Thanksgiving holiday.