Folsom, Calif. – (Sept. 10, 2026) – SAFE Credit Union is among this year’s Credit Union Times Luminaries Awards finalists with recognition for an innovative branch service model, C-suite leadership, and a marketing campaign reaching out to younger members that led to Gen Z becoming the fastest-growing membership segment. 

SAFE is named a finalist in the national competition for “Branch Services,” “Marketing Excellence,” and “C-Suite Leadership” categories for credit unions with $4 billion or more in assets.

“Every day we bring our very best to serve our members, and it’s always rewarding to see those efforts recognized,” says SAFE Credit Union President and Chief Executive Officer Faye Nabhani. “To be honored in these categories in particular means a lot to all of us at SAFE because they represent excellence in leadership, member service, and building toward a stronger future – all supporting SAFE’s stated purpose of helping members build financial freedom.”

 

Here are more details about SAFE and the nominations.

Branch Services: SAFE introduced the NEXT service model in all its 18 branches in April. The model enhances member service through personal and human connections where SAFE representatives navigate members’ needs, educate and engage, explore solutions, and transform interactions. The initiative involved SAFE’s professional development team creating supportive in-person and digital training, as well as input and insight from SAFE’s branch leadership and teams. Results were immediate and impressive in just the first few months:

• Digital Banking referrals grew from 2,471 in March, to 3,467 in April and 3,859 in May.
• Positive reviews on Google and Yelp from members about in-branch experience catapulted from 6 per month on average to 23 in May.
• Membership referrals exponentially grew from 752 in March, to 2,303 in April, and 2,737 in May.
• Teller-initiated member referrals for expanded products increased 125% from January to May.

Marketing Excellence: In a strategic effort to grow membership among Gens Z and Alpha, SAFE launched a comprehensive initiative called Next Gen @ SAFE. This multi-channel, multi-pronged campaign included expanded access to checking accounts to kids as young as 6; in-branch “Kids Days” with promotions, prizes and giveaways; a reimagined kids newsletter that encourages financial conversation and connection between parents and kids over financial education; blogs; educational videos aimed at younger kids; special episodes of the Perfect Cents Podcast for parents of young kids; in-person financial education outreach through webinars; social media campaigns; and in-branch messaging. The campaign resulted in Gen Z becoming the fastest-growing segment for SAFE in 2026, with nearly 4,000 new kids’ checking accounts opened with a combined total of more than $500,000 in initial deposits in the program’s first 9 months.

C-Suite Leadership: SAFE Credit Union Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer Tiffani Vargas is recognized for her vision and leadership that drove increases in membership, innovative ways to enhance community engagement, and re-envisioned in-person experiences in SAFE branches. Vargas oversees teams that directly connect with members and the community, and she coordinated strategic initiatives that pulled together teams from across the organization. Among the most impactful were:

• Increasing membership through expanding access to checking accounts for kids, a Refer-A-Friend program, and promotions and incentives.
• Strengthening community ties through partnerships with the Athletics and Sacramento River Cats baseball teams that included discounted tickets to select games for SAFE members and employees.
• Enhancing philanthropic efforts, including a $50,000 match for member donations made during Sacramento’s Big Day of Giving.
• Building relationships, strengthening workplace culture and enhancing leadership skills among SAFE AVPs and managers during Breakfast with Tiffani sessions.

Credit Union Times has named 230 finalists for the 2026 CU Times Luminaries Awards, recognizing individuals and organizations whose leadership, innovation and commitment to the cooperative model are helping shape the future of the credit union industry.

The finalists were selected from several hundred submissions reviewed by CU Times Executive Editor Natasha Chilingerian and Senior Director of Content Experience & Strategy Michael Ogden.

Spanning 27 award categories, the 2026 finalists represent credit union leaders and rising stars, innovative credit unions, technology providers, CUSOs, consultants and other organizations serving the credit union movement. Categories recognize achievements in executive leadership, community impact, technology and artificial intelligence, marketing, branch experience, product innovation and other areas critical to the industry's future.

“Reading the Luminaries submissions is one of our favorite parts of this program because it gives us an opportunity to see, in remarkable detail, the work happening throughout the credit union industry,” Chilingerian said. “We read stories about leaders taking chances, teams solving difficult problems, credit unions finding new ways to serve their members and communities, and industry partners helping make that work possible. Selecting the finalists from several hundred submissions was not easy, but it reminded us just how much talent, creativity and commitment exists throughout this industry.”

The CU Times Luminaries Awards were created to recognize the people, credit unions and industry partners that are raising the bar for leadership, innovation and service within the cooperative financial services industry.

The 2026 CU Times Luminaries Awards winners will be announced during the annual Luminaries Gala on Nov. 5 at the JW Marriott Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando, Fla.

For more information email [email protected].