Field of Membership Wording for Multiple Common Bond Credit Unions with Underserved Areas, Associations

This article will summarize CUCollaborate's research on what constitutes clear and effective field of membership (FOM) wording for federal multiple common bond credit unions that contain underserved areas and associations. Using the FOM language of the credit unions listed below, this article will guide you through the best ways to format your credit union's client facing FOM eligibility rules:


Example Credit Unions


Communicating FOM eligibility in regards to underserved areas can be very difficult to do clearly. If you can clearly who may be eligible, you can then direct those potential members to communicate with your Credit Union to verify their eligibility:

Family listed first on eligibility page. It may be worthwhile to try to see how new members are joining and prioritize FOM paths accordingly (i.e. if referral from family, make that first). The eligibility site breaks out different ways to join. Underserved area language: “If you live, work, worship or attend school in an area deemed by the U.S. government to be financially underserved, you’re eligible to join. All of Franklin County as well as parts of Rutherford, Davidson, Dickson, Maury and Marshall counties are considered underserved.”


When portraying your FOM rules to potential new members, it is always important to consider the clarity of the rules and to preempt common concerns and questions potential members may have with a clear delineation of who is eligible:

Clear answers to commonly asked questions regarding membership eligibility


Notice partner organizations, family membership, and location based rules are prioritized as verification of FOM eligibility. It may be worthwhile to see how your new members are joining, and prioritize those paths to membership accordingly.


It's important to say cognizant of how you can supplement the wording of your rules with visualizations of your new field of membership. Some areas of your membership may only be covered in certain census tracts of counties and can be very difficult to communicate with

Updated on: 24/09/2021

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