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By Christine Schaefer
When Elevations Credit Union was named a 2020 Baldrige Award recipient last November, the Colorado-based nonprofit became the first financial services organization to earn the prestigious Presidential award twice. (Elevations first earned a Baldrige Award in 2014.)
During the Baldrige Program’s 32nd Quest for Excellence® Conference in April 2021, Elevations President and CEO Gerry Agnes shared insights and highlights of his organization’s leadership practices and “Baldrige journey” to excellence. The high-performing credit union holds more than $3 billion in assets, employs more than 600 people, and serves more than 150,000 members (customers).
Established in 1953 to serve the faculty and staff of the University of Colorado Boulder as a cooperative savings and credit provider, Elevations (originally named the U. of C. Federal Credit Union) started with less than $100 in assets and 12 members. Yet the organization was designed to exist in perpetuity.
“Holding true to that design, we’ve evolved and grown,” Agnes said, referring in part to the credit union’s extension of membership beyond the university to communities along the Front Range of Colorado.
He explained that, as a nonprofit, member-owned credit union, Elevations provides full-service banking services and reinvests its earnings in member service and community development.
“When people bank with us, they can see their money at work right where they live,” said Agnes. “They benefit. Their family and friends benefit. Their companies benefit. And our communities thrive.”
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