For generations, credit unions have walked alongside members through financial challenges and opportunities, helping people recover from setbacks, build stability, and move toward brighter financial futures. At the National Credit Union Foundation, we believe our role is to help strengthen and equip that work, supporting credit unions as they continue improving financial well-being in communities across the country.
Our 2025 Annual Impact Report reflects that commitment in action.
Going farther together than ever before
In 2025, the Foundation took a meaningful step forward by clarifying our role to improve financial well-being with and through credit unions. That clarity matters because financial well-being isn’t a single program or initiative. It’s a long-term journey. And it’s not a journey any one organization can navigate alone.
It requires partnership. It requires shared purpose. It requires a movement. And that’s exactly the kind of movement credit unions have always been.
Throughout 2025, we saw the industry continue to show up in powerful ways.
- Nearly 250 leaders completed the Credit Union Development Education (DE) program, returning to their organizations with a map to lead with purpose and deepen their commitment to financial well-being.
- More than 2,200 youth were reached through innovative grant-funded initiatives focused on supporting young people transitioning out of foster care and helping create paths to financial stability.
- And when disasters struck, the movement responded. Through CUAid, more than $379,000 was distributed to support credit unions and credit union employees recovering from natural disasters so they could get back on their feet to continue serving members and communities.
These are important numbers. But they reflect something even bigger: a credit union system working together to meet real needs in real communities.
From “why” to “how”
For many years, the Foundation has helped connect people to the “why” of the credit union movement. That work continues to matter deeply, but today, we are also focused on helping credit unions answer the next question: How do we bring financial well-being to life consistently, practically, and at scale?
That’s where the next chapter of the Foundation’s work is taking shape. We are investing in tools, programming, and partnerships that help operationalize financial well-being in meaningful ways. We are creating opportunities for credit unions to learn from one another, share insights, and explore what’s working. And most importantly, we’re making it easier for those already on this journey.
One of the themes woven throughout this year’s report is that the Foundation is intentionally building alongside credit unions, not in isolation from them. We are under construction on purpose, with deep listening and collaboration at the center of how we move forward.
The answers already exist across this movement. Our job is to help surface them, strengthen them, and turn it into a growth strategy for credit unions to continue advancing financial well-being in ways that are sustainable and impactful.
The opportunity in front of us
The challenges facing members today are real and growing. For many Americans, financial well-being can feel less like a destination and more like a continuous climb. That reality makes the work of credit unions more important than ever.
Leaning into the credit union mission and focusing on financial well-being isn’t simply a “nice to have.” It is a differentiator. It is one of the clearest ways credit unions demonstrate their value to the people and communities they serve. When credit unions invest in their mission, members take notice. Communities are strengthened, advocacy becomes more powerful, and lives are changed for the better.
Supporting the work ahead
As we look toward the future, we do so with deep gratitude. To the credit unions, leagues, foundations, system partners, donors, and supporters who make this work possible: thank you for walking this journey with us.
We are especially grateful to the Foundation’s Board of Directors, whose leadership, perspective, and stewardship continue to help shape our strategy and guide this work forward.
And to the Foundation staff, thank you for your passion, creativity, and unwavering commitment to serving this movement. This report reflects not only the impact of our programs, but the heart and dedication behind them.
The path ahead will continue to evolve, but it is clear that financial well-being is not a side conversation for the credit union movement. It is central to who we are and the future we are building together. And all it takes to keep our momentum is the next step forward.
I invite you to read the full 2025 National Credit Union Foundation Annual Impact Report here.
