A credit union on its own initiative order is created by citizens (individuals) to solve their financial problems that they could not solve in other financial institutions. Credit unions perform the function of social protection in a vital for people sphere of financial services. They care about improving the financial literacy of the population, are working on the formation of their members and their employees. 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 cooperatives and credit unions exist in many different forms. The main differences relate to the nature of the membership and the opening of a credit institution. Like the credit cooperatives, credit unions form associations of a higher level, which are called corporate credit unions. The first credit union in the United States was founded in 1909. by the group of Franco-American Catholics in Manchester, New Hampshire, and was called "Cooperative Credit Association of St. Mary. " Credit unions encourage the proper use of shareholders savings, developing social programs (education, health, recreation, housing, etc.). 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).