All Diamond Award winners in this category are listed below.
Category’s Best winners—marked with a 💎—earned the highest score within their asset grouping.
Assets less than $250 million | Kingsport, TN
Camp Appy showed us that financial education is most effective when it feels less like a lesson and more like an experience. By using an in-branch, camp-style format, we were able to meet children where they are—through play, curiosity, and hands-on learning—while also engaging parents in meaningful conversations about money. This approach helped remove intimidation, build trust, and create positive first impressions of our credit union at an early age.
The campaign exceeded our goals by generating overwhelmingly positive parent feedback, strengthening community relationships, and even leading to the immediate opening of a youth savings account. Most importantly, Camp Appy created a fun summer memory for families while reinforcing ACFCU’s commitment to long-term financial well-being. The success of our first camp confirmed that experiential, purpose-driven programming can make a lasting impact and set a strong foundation for future growth.
Assets $250 million – $1 billion | Shelbyville, TN
You never know what challenge awaits you when you arrive at work every day. You might just have to produce your most impactful video of the year to save untold amounts of fraud losses, all before lunch.
Assets greater than $1 billion | Kalispell, MT
Collect the Culture proved that you don’t need a big budget to create big engagement—you need something people actually want to earn. We turned cross-branch support into a fun, wearable badge of pride with community-inspired branch pins, then expanded it so branch leaders could recognize back-office employees with a pin and a handwritten note. The medium mattered: a physical, well-designed object shows up every day on lanyards, sparks conversations, and keeps recognition visible long after the moment passes. Our takeaway was that culture strengthens when appreciation is personal, peer-driven, and a little bit collectible. The program exceeded our goal by making collaboration feel rewarding again, reconnecting teams across geography, and creating “surprise and delight” that employees talk about and display—at a minimal cost with an outsized return in pride, connection, and momentum.
Assets $250 million – $1 billion | Huron, SD
Our Diamond in the Rough is truly a story that began with no intent, no budget, and lacking any sort of plan. Nor did it have a formal launch, but we are in hopes it never has an expiration date. The Dakotaland Home Loan Gnome is proof that some DIAMONDS just take a sense of humor, a healthy beard, and a willingness to believe in magic.
Assets $250 million – $1 billion | Marshall, MI
The Kindness Cash Challenge empowered youth to turn empathy into action—funding real acts of kindness while allowing the credit union to quietly support what mattered most to them.
