What's Missing From Your Credit Union's 2027 Strategic Plan? Your Members.

Your strategic plan measures how your credit union will grow. But does it measure whether your members will grow financially stronger?

It's strategic planning season.

Across the credit union industry, leadership teams and boards are setting priorities for 2027.

Loan growth.

Deposit growth.

Membership growth.

Digital transformation.

Operational efficiency.

Member experience.

Important goals. Every one of them.

And I'm willing to bet your strategic plan includes something about improving members' financial lives.

After all, that's why credit unions exist.

But here's my question: Where is the measurable goal that tells you whether your members are actually becoming financially stronger?

Not whether they have more products.

Not whether they're more satisfied.

Not whether your credit union is growing.

Whether their financial condition is improving.

We're Measuring the Credit Union. But Are We Measuring the Member?

Credit unions have become remarkably good at measuring institutional performance.

We know our loan-to-share ratios, ROA, delinquency, deposit growth, member acquisition costs, and Net Promoter Scores.

We build dashboards, track KPIs, and report progress to our boards.

But consider a different set of questions.

How many members have enough emergency savings to withstand an unexpected expense?

How many are becoming less burdened by debt?

How many are improving their housing or transportation stability?

How many are moving from financially vulnerable to financially stable?

And perhaps most importantly:

How many members are financially stronger today than they were a year ago?

Those measures rarely have the same prominence as loan growth or ROA.

And I think it's time they did.

What If Your Credit Union Had Two Scorecards?

This is one of the ideas that emerged from developing the first CU POWER Report baseline with Valley First Credit Union.

We already measure credit union performance.

What if we also measured member financial performance?

Two complementary scorecards, connected by the credit union's mission.

Credit Union Performance	Member Financial Performance
Loan growth	Debt resilience
Deposit growth	Emergency savings
Membership growth	Financial stability
Product penetration	Financial condition across the Core 7
Member satisfaction	Financial confidence

One tells us how the institution is doing.

The other helps us understand how the people we serve are doing.

Neither replaces the other. We need both.

Because a credit union can have a successful year financially without necessarily knowing whether its members experienced meaningful financial improvement.

And shouldn't we be able to understand both?

THE CU POWER SIGNAL

Real Data. Measurable Impact.

VULNERABLE — Members lack the financial cushion to absorb disruption.

COPING — Members are managing today but have limited room to adapt.

STABLE — Members have greater capacity to manage their financial obligations and withstand unexpected expenses.

What it means: Institutional performance measures alone cannot tell us whether members are becoming financially stronger. Understanding their financial condition—and measuring movement from Vulnerable to Coping to Stable—adds a new dimension to credit union performance.

The question for your credit union: Does your 2027 strategic plan measure how your credit union will perform—and how many members will become financially stronger?

Source: CU POWER member financial condition framework, applied in the first CU POWER Report baseline with Valley First Credit Union. Conditions are assessed by financial indicator and are not permanent classifications of members.

What Would Change If Member Strength Became a Strategic Goal?

Imagine your 2027 strategic plan included this goal:

Increase the percentage of members with at least $400 in emergency savings.

Or:

Improve the financial condition of members identified as vulnerable in debt resilience, housing, or transportation.

Suddenly, the conversation changes.

Marketing isn't simply driving product adoption. It's helping connect members with relevant financial support.

Lending isn't simply growing balances. It's also identifying opportunities to reduce financial burdens.

Data analytics isn't simply reporting performance. It's helping identify members who may benefit from timely interventions.

And leadership has a new question to ask every quarter:

Are our actions making a measurable difference in members' financial lives?

That's how member impact becomes more than a mission statement.

It becomes a strategic priority with accountability.

You Don't Need Perfect Data to Begin

One lesson from the first CU POWER Report is that credit unions don't need perfect data to start asking better questions.

The first step is establishing a baseline of what can be measured today.

Then identifying opportunities to act.

And measuring whether financial condition changes.

Baseline → Identify → Act → Remeasure.

That's how we begin moving from activity to evidence of impact.

A Different Kind of Strategic Goal for 2027

I'm not suggesting credit unions stop measuring growth, profitability, or operational performance.

Quite the opposite.

A financially strong credit union is better positioned to serve its members.

But financial strength for the institution should help create financial strength for the people it serves.

What if 2027 were the year we started measuring both?

Because the next evolution of credit union relevance isn't simply saying, "We improve members' financial lives."

It's being able to demonstrate it.

Is Member Financial Strength Part of Your 2027 Strategy?

The first CU POWER Report demonstrates how existing credit union data can help establish a baseline of member financial condition, identify opportunities for improvement, and begin measuring impact.

As you finalize your 2027 priorities, I'd encourage you to ask:

What would your strategic plan look like if member financial improvement were one of its measurable outcomes?

Let's make 2027 the year credit unions begin measuring not only how well they're performing, but how much stronger their members are becoming.

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