In the U.S., credit unions have a clear organizational structure. All credit unions belong to one or the other parent credit union (there are 35 of them in the U.S.). Typically, donor contributions to the credit unions are targeted and used in the same statutory requirements and restrictions as the Mutual Financial Aid fund as a whole. Credit unions of the open type are still controlled by their members, but at the same time provide services to people who are not its members (external customers). Credit union as a consumer cooperative operates on the principles of equality of all its members.