Elevations Credit Union

Elevations Credit Union empowers its members and the 

communities it serves along Colorado’s Front Range with financial 

solutions and education. In addition to offering a broad portfolio 

of consumer and business banking services, Elevations is the No. 1

credit union mortgage lender in Colorado. This member-owned, 

nonprofit financial institution serves more than 147,000 members 

via 14 branches. With assets of over $2.7 billion and more than 

560 employees, it serves members in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, 

Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, and Weld 

counties, Colorado. 

This is the second Baldrige Award for Elevations Credit Union.

Senior Leadership

• Leaders motivate the workforce by setting and communicating 

the core purpose (mission): “Together we create solutions for a 

better life” and by building and reinforcing the core competency 

of membership first. 

• Leaders align all aspects of Elevations’ business through the 

Operational Rhythm, an engineered sequence of meetings and 

decision-making forums designed to ensure that the right people 

are getting the right information at the right time to make the right 

decisions, and that those decisions are communicated in a timely 

way to the right people.

Financial Results

• Elevations matches or exceeds the top 25% of its national peer 

group for financial results, including revenue per full-time 

equivalent staff member, net interest margin, cost of funds, 

non-interest operating income/average assets, delinquency ratio, 

and net charge-offs per average loan. 

• In 2018 and 2019, Elevations produced more mortgages annually 

than any credit union in the state. Elevations’ share of the mortgage 

purchase market in Boulder County increased from less than 15% 

in the fourth quarter of 2018 to over 20% in the first quarter of 

2020, outperforming large originators such as Wells Fargo and Chase.

• An assessment by the American Credit Union Mortgage Association 

ranks Elevations as #11 out of the top 300 credit unions in the 

nation. This high rating outpaces Elevations’ asset size, which 

ranks #127 of 300, and its ability to lend only in Colorado versus 

other lenders that cross state lines.

Customer Process with Results

• Elevations uses Net Promoter Score (NPS), a rigorous measure 

of customer engagement where a score over 50 is considered 

excellent. In its market in 2018 and 2019, Elevations outperformed 

2020 Award Recipient

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

Highlights

• Elevations uses the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 

Award framework to help drive its efforts to continuously 

improve service for its members and community.

• In 2018 and 2019, Elevations produced more mortgages 

annually than any credit union in the state. 

• An assessment by the American Credit Union Mortgage 

Association ranks Elevations as #11 out of the top 300 

credit unions in the nation. This high rating outpaces 

Elevations’ asset size, which ranks #127 of 300, and its 

ability to lend only in Colorado versus other lenders 

that cross state lines.

• In spring 2020, Elevations ranked in the top 95% of U.S. 

organizations for overall employee engagement based on 

the Gallup Q12 survey. 

• For business/commercial loans, production increased 

from less than $50 million in 2015 to about $175 million 

in 2019, even as the charge-off ratio (losses in relation to 

loan portfolio growth) remained at zero.
Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

2020 Award Recipient

Elevations Credit Union 

large competitors, such as Bank of the West, US Bank, Key Bank, 

and Chase, with scores ranging from about 60 to 80.

• Elevations builds relationships with members and delivers on its 

Member Value Proposition through the Elevations Way, a 

systematic approach to connecting with members to serve them 

best. All staff members complete training on how to engage 

members, foster member connections, and discover member needs.

• To understand its members’ needs and expectations, Elevations uses 

social media, a secure email and chat tool, feedback tools integrated 

into its website, and semiannual phone surveys of consumers, as 

well as transaction surveys and market analytics. All are tailored by 

geographic region, service, and member life stage. 

• To continue building relationships and trust during the COVID-19 

pandemic, Elevations tailored its approaches to members’ new 

needs. For example, while branches were closed due to state 

mandates, senior citizens could walk in without appointments. 

During lockdowns, branch employees called members to ask 

about their welfare, with some members noting that the Elevations 

employee was the only person they had spoken with since the 

beginning of the lockdown. Elevations also offered loan, mortgage, 

and credit card payment deferments to members.

People Process with Results

• In spring 2020, Elevations ranked in the top 95% of U.S. organizations 

for overall employee engagement based on the Gallup Q12 survey. 

From 2017 through 2020, Elevations ranked in the national top 

90% on 8 of the 12 elements of the Gallup Q12.

• Elevations organizes its workforce by its four value streams, thereby 

aligning all employees’ work with its Member Value Proposition: 

We build long-term relationships and deep mutual trust with 

our members by acting in the best interest of our membership and 

community. To ensure that employees understand what they need 

to accomplish for this proposition, strategic goals cascade to each 

employee’s performance objectives.

Strategic Planning

• The rolling, five-year strategic plan is translated into an annual 

business plan, with the potential need for transformational change 

addressed through the rolling, five-year, envisioned future. Inputs 

include Operational Rhythm forum outputs, scenario planning, a 

comprehensive PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological, 

legal, and environmental) survey, and an environmental scan. 

• Elevations stimulates innovation by identifying strategic 

opportunities during strategic planning, along with strategic 

advantages and challenges that help identify areas for innovation. 

These opportunities leverage the Innovation Plan, which has 

three avenues: (1) an Employee Innovation Forum, (2) Innovation 

Workshops for individuals, and (3) Test and Learn experiments. 

Process Efficiency/Effectiveness with Results

• Elevations’ pull-through rate has exceeded 88% since 2015, 

better than the Mortgage Bankers’ Association 75th percentile.

• For business/commercial loans, production increased from less 

than $50 million in 2015 to about $175 million in 2019, even as the 

charge-off ratio remained at zero. 

• To achieve efficient and effective operations, Elevations uses Business 

Process Management, a system of more than 600 documented work 

processes that are reviewed annually by identified stakeholders and 

refined for improvement. Improvements consider new technology, 

organizational knowledge, product excellence, member value, and 

risk, as well as information from member listening posts.

Citizenship with Results

• From 2015 to 2019, Elevations doubled the number of K-12 

students reached in its youth financial literacy program; the number 

of free educational seminars offered; and the amount of scholarships 

provided. Reduction in the amount of eco-cycle materials 

(e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, toxic air pollutants, water pollution) 

also doubled over this period.

• Elevations Credit Union and its members proudly support Elevations 

Foundation, an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that 

was established in 2010. Over the last decade, Elevations 

Foundation has provided $1.97 million in scholarship funds for 

local students, community grants for local nonprofit organizations, 

and emergency assistance for flood victims, wildfire victims, and 

community organizations. Every two years, Elevations Foundation 

conducts a community needs assessment to ensure that its support 

resources are being used wisely.

For more information:

Elevations Credit Union

2960 Diagonal Highway

P.O. Box 9004

Boulder, CO 80301

www.elevationscu.com

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program

The Baldrige Program educates organizations of all sizes and 

from all sectors in organizational performance management and 

improvement. We also administer the Malcolm Baldrige National

Quality Award. Our key services are to identify and recognize 

role-model organizations, share best management practices, 

and help organizations achieve best-in-class performance levels.

We are the only public-private partnership and Presidential award 

program dedicated to improving U.S. organizations. 

For more information on the Baldrige Program: 

www.nist.gov/baldrige | 301-975-2036 | baldrige@nist.gov