Fahe Impact

Our Impact

Fahe is building thriving Appalachian communities where people want to live. We envision Appalachia as a place where empowered residents have access to the resources needed to build resilient communities that provide opportunity for all to realize their potential.

A mother is smiling holding her daughter. They are standing outside of a mutli-story apartment complex.

As a purpose-oriented Network, Fahe identifies and pursues people and place-sensitive capital to create a virtuous cycle of investment, capacity, collaboration, and influence.

We have set our sights on creating lasting opportunity and positive change for Appalachia. Through our strategic collaborations we can correct decades of disinvestment (through housing, business, and infrastructure investment), end the brain drain (through childcare, education, workforce, health and wellness investment), and see evidence that our voices matter (by lifting rural voices at the local, state, regional, and national level).

We’ve come a long way and are proud of our impact so far. We are following our Strategic Plan and look forward to achieving even more results in the coming years.

A group of people are standing outside smiling at a ribbon cutting event. Two people are holding a red ribbon and a two people are holding a giant pair of wooden scissors open about to cut the ribbon.

Two people are standing outside of the Delmonte Market. A green door and brick walls are behind them and there is an array of plants beside them.

A mother is smiling holding her two smiling children outside. She is wearing a black university cap and gown.

A woman is smiling standing outside of a house. The house is gray with a red door.

Our Historic Impact

Since 1980 Fahe has invested over $2.08B generating $1.85B in finance.

This investment was channeled through our Members and community partners, directly changing the lives of 1,063,144 people.

FY24 Impact

The Fahe Network served 121,437 people with housing and community development services.

Fahe made total direct investments of $173.8M. Total capital under management including investments managed and loans serviced for other organizations topped $293M.

Fahe’s Mortgage Division, JustChoice Lending, served 515 households with loans totaling approximately $115.4M, leveraging $5.3M.

Fahe’s Community Loan Fund made a total of 25 loans for $52.7M leveraging $88.6M.

The Fahe Network employed 4,359 people.

USDA 502 Direct

Fahe is a national expert on the USDA 502 Direct Packaging Program. We were instrumental in creating the pilot for the program in 2009 to supplement USDA RD’s diminished capacity to deliver 502 funds. The program was so successful it was made permanent in 2016, at which time Fahe was declared Champions of Rural Housing. Today, Fahe leads a 502 Direct Packaging network of over 200 packagers serving 19 states. We have served 3,500 loans with over half a billion dollars in 502 Direct mortgage finance.

Advocacy

Fahe’s advocacy work draws on the real-world experiences of Appalachians to design innovative policy solutions, ensuring our communities thrive. We collaborate with local leaders to influence policies at the local, state, and federal levels that lead to lasting positive change in policy, implementation, funding and narrative around poverty.

Partners for Rural Transformation (PRT)

Fahe is a founder and steering committee member of the Partners for Rural Transformation, a national coalition of CDFS serving the three-quarters of the country’s persistent poverty counties. The Partners work collaboratively across geographies and cultures to collectively influence policy and simultaneously lead, advocate, innovate, and finance individual and community solutions to poverty. As with every national initiative Fahe undertakes, the lessons learned and wins we experience with PRT directly benefit our Appalachian communities.