Minneapolis, MN (June 1, 2026) |
Duome has been named the official winner of the 2026 NACUSO Next Big Idea Competition, taking first place following a post-event audit of the live audience vote at NACUSO's Reimagine conference on April 28, 2026.
The competition featured four CUSO finalists presenting to a room of credit union industry leaders. Following the event, NACUSO identified irregularities in the vote totals. A full audit with its polling vendor confirmed anomalies in the data. NACUSO's executive committee voted unanimously to remove the irregular votes. The result: Duome.
“Credit unions are built to take on the housing affordability crisis," said Eric Berg, Co-Founder of Duome. "It’s an urgent problem — in over 79% of U.S. counties, the median household income cannot afford the median home price. Duome helps credit unions serve the members who are being priced out, without forcing them to build a new program, create new underwriting, or take on operational complexity they are not staffed to manage. This recognition matters because it reflects the credit union community's belief that this problem is solvable."
Duome co-invests alongside homebuyers as tenants-in-common, bringing together impact capital to reduce the mortgage burden for creditworthy buyers at 80–120% of Area Median Income. The Duome Fund co-invests up to 45% of the purchase price of a single-family home, enabling buyers to carry a standard first-lien mortgage at 55-75% of the value. The result is a monthly payment reduction of several hundred dollars — with no change to the credit union's underwriting process.
No new lending products. No zoning reform. No government subsidy. It works within the existing credit union infrastructure today.
"We built Duome to be a solution credit unions could use today to address a growing community problem," said Berg. "The housing affordability crisis isn't waiting for policy to catch up. Our credit union partners understand that, and the members who voted us the Next Big Idea recognize it too."
All voices are needed at the table for innovation to grow. NACUSO builds that table, and brings together the industry’s Next Big Ideas in a lively and collaborative manner. This win reflects something Duome believes deeply: credit unions are uniquely positioned to solve the housing affordability crisis for the members who need it most.
One Washington Financial, the CUSO subsidiary of WSECU, serves as Duome's anchor community partner and strategic investor.