A website reflects an organization values and mission. It gives visitors a wholistic feeling of what that organization stands for.
When building its new website, the SECU MD Foundation wanted to make clear that it aims to create stronger Maryland communities by empowering individuals to achieve personal and financial wellness.
The result of this new site does just that, and more. In fact, the redesign was so successful that the America’s Credit Unions organization just awarded the SECU MD Foundation a Diamond Award in Website Redesign.
You can read the full reason why below or visit the new SECU MD Foundation website yourself to see what the buzz is all about.
America’s Credit Unions Honors SECU’s Marketing Efforts with a Coveted Diamond Award for Website Redesign
SECU MD Foundation site overhaul recognized for creative excellence and outstanding results
BALTIMORE (March 26, 2026) – SECU, Maryland’s largest state-chartered credit union, is proud to announce that the SECU MD Foundation, an independent nonprofit affiliated with SECU, has been awarded a prestigious Diamond Award in Website Redesign by the America’s Credit Unions (ACU) organization. At a ceremony held on March 24, 2026, in Aurora, Co., the Baltimore-based credit union and its foundation earned a Diamond Award as part of the ACU’s annual call for the best of the best in credit union marketing. This is the SECU MD Foundation’s first Diamond Award.
The SECU MD Foundation aims to create stronger Maryland communities by empowering individuals to achieve personal and financial wellness. The Foundation often acts as a warm welcome and first touch for non-members looking to engage with the credit union, and though part of SECU, the Foundation exists as its own entity – with a different mission and different stakeholders. In 2025, it became clear that a website redesign was the strongest path forward to ensure its updated messaging and mission statement were properly reflected, and aesthetics, user experience, and information hierarchy were improved.
By including fresh infographics, new and clean photography from actual SECU events and programs, as well as clear calls to action, site visitors can now navigate the site intentionally and easily. Since the project completion and relaunch of the newly designed website, it has seen an over 37% increase in average daily traffic and a 35.1% increase in year-over-year annual views.
“The SECU MD Foundation’s website redesign was rooted in a people-first approach,” said Charlotte Owsianny, executive director of the SECU MD Foundation. “We sought to improve user experience, establish a thoughtful yet fun brand identity and ensure information related to our scholarships, grants and financial education programs was accessible and clearly mapped out for site visitors – whether their first or fortieth introduction to the SECU MD Foundation. I am so proud of the work that went into accomplishing this project and seeing it come to fruition, and to be recognized on a national scale amongst so many of our fellow credit union and nonprofit peers is truly special. We look forward to even more success and innovation as we carve out the future of the SECU MD Foundation.”
America’s Credit Unions is a national trade association that gives a unified voice to credit unions across the country. The annual ACU Diamond Awards recognize and reward creative excellence and outstanding results in credit union marketing. At the 2026 awards ceremony, nearly 180 credit unions were recognized for their achievements.
“We are thrilled to be honored with an ACU Diamond Award,” said David Sweiderk, SECU president and CEO. “This award reflects our strong marketing efforts, but also the incredible creativity, strategy, and dedication of our entire SECU and SECU MD Foundation teams. We are immensely proud of the thoughtful work they do every day to connect with our members in more meaningful ways.”
In addition to this recent recognition by the ACU, SECU was recently named a 2025 Top Workplace by The Baltimore Sun for the fifth consecutive year. SECU President and CEO David Sweiderk was also awarded The Baltimore Sun’s prestigious Leadership Award – one of just three awardees recognized in 2025. The credit union has been named to Forbes’ 2024 list of Best-in-State Credit Unions and received a Future Branches Innovator Award for the implementation of digital-first technologies and rollout of its Virtual Financial Center.
To learn more about the SECU MD Foundation, its programs, initiatives, grants, and scholarships, visit secumdfoundation.org.
