SEATTLE–The GoWest Credit Union Association is proud to announce the finalists for the 2026 MAXX Awards, recognizing credit unions that drive change, support communities, and elevate the Credit Union Movement.
“These finalists brought the ‘People Helping People’ philosophy to life whether by working individually or through collaboration with other credit unions,” GoWest President and CEO Troy Stang said in a statement. “They helped hundreds of people achieve the dream of homeownership, provided disaster relief when their communities needed it most, worked with members to pay down debt, and empowered credit union employees to thrive, grow, and serve their members.”
According to the organization, the finalists were selected by a 45-member panel of credit union leaders from across the six-state region GoWest serves. Winners in each of the five categories will be announced during the GoWest MAXX Experience at the Gaylord Rockies Resort in Denver Oct. 9.
2026 MAXX Award Finalists
Community Impact:
GoWest said this category honors a credit union that has embraced social responsibility through lending programs, charitable giving, multicultural services, or other initiatives that improve financial well-being in the communities they serve.
- SELCO Community Credit Union, for “SELSO Steps Up,” an employee-driven program that reinvested $450,000 into Oregon communities, supported the development of 52 homes, and provided hundreds of thousands of dollars for grants supporting teachers, classroom makeovers, and scholarships.
- TAPCO Credit Union for “Financial Well-Being for All” efforts. The credit union taught financial education to middle school students, helping them understand the real-life impact of everyday financial decisions. Recognizing that 2,500 local students are homeless, the credit union also worked with community partners to address debt that leads to eviction and established a grant program that helped dozens of students open their first savings accounts.
- WECU for the “Flood Relief Assistance Program,” established when a devastating flood impacted 78,000 residents of Whatcom County. The credit union deferred loan payments and helped members explore mortgage forbearance and other options, and granted low-interest rate loans to impacted local businesses. WECU employees were given paid time off to volunteer to clean up flood damaged homes.
Cooperation in Action
GoWest said this category celebrates two or more credit unions, credit union communities, or professionals from separate credit unions collaborating to create a bigger impact.
- Arizona Credit Union Week for a collaboration by 18 credit unions. Every day for a week last October, they performed special services including supporting local retailers, cleaning up school grounds, preparing emergency food boxes, and donations to nonprofits. The 18 credit unions were Aero Financial Credit Union, Alhambra Credit Union, Arizona Central Credit Union, Arizona Financial Credit Union, Copper State Credit Union, Credit Union West, Desert Financial Credit Union, First American Credit Union, First Credit Union, Hughes Federal Credit Union, Landings Credit Union, OneAZ Credit Union, Pima Federal Credit Union, Pinal County Federal Credit Union, SunWest Credit Union, TruWest Credit Union, and Vantage West Credit Union.
- Forrit Credit Union and Point West Credit Union for working together to host Bite of Reality Fairs at several Portland, Oregon schools. Through the credit unions’ collaboration, the teams volunteered more than 200 hours, and helped 300 students get hands on real life budgeting experience
- Tucson Welcome Home for a collaboration by five credit unions and the GoWest Foundation to address housing affordability. The program offers 100% financing, no private mortgage insurance, no origination or application fees, and competitive fixed rate interest rates. Already, 76 loans have been approved and hundreds of others are being processed.
Employee Experience
- iQ Credit Union for its work to develop the next generation of credit union professionals. The credit union’s network of eight high school branches offers students the opportunity to conduct transactions and learn what it’s like to work in a credit union. More than 150 students participate. Students may apply for internships paying $19.50. Professional development days in the credit union allow students to take a deeper dive into financial careers.
- On Tap Credit Union for the “Policies and Brew-cedures” program. New employees are given personalized gift baskets and on-going opportunities to connect with each other, and with leadership. The experience grounds employees in On Tap’s “KEG of Excellence” culture, defined by being kind, engaged, and genuine. More than 90% of the credit union’s employees have engaged in the program, resulting in a thriving workplace culture and high touch member services. On Tap’s process net promoter score has increased by more than 10% as a result.
- Seattle Credit Union for the “Fixed Term Assignment” program focusing on how the credit union hires, onboards, and develops talent. In the last two years, employees’ net promoter score grew from +4 to +27, and turnover decreased by 30%.
Member Impact
GoWest Said this award celebrates a credit union that has demonstrated exceptional, measurable, member impact through intentional actions, programs, or strategies that produce tangible benefits for members.
- Minnequa Works Credit Union for the “Funding Futures” grant program. Funding Futures gives entrepreneurs early access to capital, and a credit union partner who believes in them. The program awarded more than $45,000 to 20 local businesses.
- Rivermark Community Credit Union for the Financial Wellness Capacity Partners Network. Recognizing that 42% of Oregon households are struggling to make ends meet, Rivermark goes beyond the traditional banking model by connecting families with resources to help pay utility bills, find housing, and fix food insecurity. The network is helping members to better manage more than $800,000 in debt, and 800 people have started investing.
- Verity Credit Union for hosting Community Cares events last November to help members and nonmembers navigate the financial impact of a government shutdown and reductions in federal benefits. Two hundred families participated. Attendees received $250 gift cards, financial check-ins, and connections to other helpful community resources.
Storytelling With Purpose
GoWest said this new honor to the 2026 awards program celebrates a credit union, or collaboration of credit unions, for demonstrating leadership in storytelling and media engagement that raises awareness about the Credit Union Difference and highlights the distinct value of our cooperative model.
- P1FCU for its “Making Sense of Money” podcast and “Basecamp Newsletter.” Both platforms rewrote the narrative on financial education by using the voices of real community members who told their stories and shared their financial journeys. Listeners and site visitors found relatable information about topics such as fraud prevention, meeting savings goals, and opening small businesses.
- Tucson Federal Credit Union for “Proudly Tucson.” The paid and earned media content focused less on loan rates or other products, and more on the credit union’s 90 years of commitment to and impact in the community. Paid media during the Super Bowl generated more than 1.2 million impressions. Local media extensively covered Tucson Federal’s community giving, and leadership was often featured in national news stories this year.
- Westerra Credit Union for storytelling celebrating their history as a financial education credit union and the commitment that continues today. When the Colorado Legislature was considering a bill requiring high schools to teach financial education, Westerra demonstrated to lawmakers the impact of their longstanding in-school financial literacy workshops, and their school grant program. Their advocacy was covered by 18 local newsletters, and they were featured in a national article by Forbes.
Other Awards
In addition to revealing which credit union or credit union group won in each of these categories at the Oct. 9 gathering, GoWest said it will announce the top advocacy credit unions across the six-state region. Four outstanding individuals will also be announced at the event, including the Young Professional, Distinguished Director, Summit Advocate, and Summit Icon.
