What's New at FAHE

FAHE Wins NEXT Award for Opportunity Finance

In recognition of outstanding work in community development, FAHE has been named a winner of the 2009 Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance. FAHE will receive a $2.75 million prize, which includes a $2.5 million low-cost loan and a $250,000 unrestricted grant. The Selection Committee chose FAHE for its innovative and bold strategy in eliminating substandard housing conditions prevalent in the Central Appalachian region. 

"Each award recipient has blazed an unlikely trail on solid ground against expectations," said OFN president and CEO Mark Pinsky. "These awards recognize the outstanding achievements and extraordinary future potential of two leading CDFIs. The Wachovia NEXT Awards also spotlight how the entire opportunity finance field benefits our nation's economy through responsible lending, investing, and financial services."

FAHE and the other winners will be honored on the evening of Wednesday, October 28th at the Opportunity Finance Network Annual Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

To learn more about the NEXT Awards at www.nextawards.org.

Homebuyer Counseling Just a Click Away

FAHE's mortgage division, JustChoice Lending, is one of five Kentucky organizations to offer eHome America, an online course on the homebuying process and homeownership responsibilities. The online program is especially useful for people who can’t come to classes in person due to distance or scheduling difficulties. These lessons are critical in our current economic times. Proper homebuyer education has been shown to dramatically reduce foreclosure rates, especially among low- and moderate-income families. 

The program takes around 8 hours to complete and costs $50. To learn more about the counseling program and JustChoice Lending, check out the full story or call 1-866-367-0855.

FAHE Adds Three New Members to Its Fold

In early July, FAHE's Board of Directors voted to approve three new Members joining the FAHE network. We are proud to welcome: 

  Clinch-Powell Conservation & Development Council is a rural community development organization serving Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins, and Union counties in Tennessee. Their mission is to serve the needs of their communities, to protect the environment, and to enhance the quality of life of the people of the area through leadership, education, volunteerism, and action.

  Kentucky River Foothillls is a community action agency committed to the promise of helping people and changing lives. The agency provides a comprehensive range of services for families and individuals in and around Clark, Estill, Madison and Powell counties in Kentucky. 

  Knoxville Leadership Foundation brings together people from all walks of life to address the needs of Knoxville, Tennessee. They target five specific areas of need: homes for the working poor, home repair for those who can't afford it, help for non-profit groups, mentoring for children with parents in prison, and an abstinence program to help prevent teenage pregnancy.

FAHE Sheds Light on Myths During National Manufactured Housing Week

During National Manufactured Housing Week, June 15-19, FAHE continues dispelling myths and opening the doors of homeownership to all income levels, by improving a type of housing usually ignored in community development--manufactured housing. 

FAHE started a performance compact in 2006 to help homebuyers purchase quality, energy-efficient manufactured homes with fair and affordable mortgage financing.  (Read the full story)

Learn more about FAHE's Manufactured Housing Compact. 

Download the Top 10 Truths about Manufactured Housing from CFED. 

Controversial 20/20 Piece Features Children of Central Appalachia 

On February 13, ABC's 20/20 aired a harrowing, though somewhat provocative special highlighting the struggles of impoverished children in Central Appalachia. The special was watched by nearly 11 million viewers, the highest rated 20/20 episode in five years. 

"Regardless of your opinion about the piece, it highlighted the kind of stories FAHE and its Members see all too often" said FAHE's President, Jim King. "Hopefully, it will call attention and resources to the disparities that make it difficult for people in our communities to unlock their potential." 

Didn't catch the 20/20 Special "A Hidden America:  Children of the Mountains"?  Check out the streaming video online.

Congressman Geoff Davis Receives Award for Distinguished Service in Housing

On February 9, 2009, Congressman Geoff Davis of Kentucky’s Fourth District attended a ceremony to receive the Housing Assistance Council’s (HAC) Henry B. Gonzales Award for Distinguished Service in Housing in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the improvement of housing conditions for low-income rural citizens. This is the first year that HAC has presented the award to an elected official. Davis has demonstrated his leadership in rural housing advocacy through his work on housing issues on the Financial Services Committee and Housing subcommittee. During the 111th Congress, Davis will move to the Ways and Means committee, and continue his leadership on the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act, which will be reintroduced.

The award was presented at a home in a subdivision built by FAHE Member People’s Self-Help Housing in Vanceburg, Kentucky. The ceremony included remarks from FAHE CEO & President, Jim King, along with USDA Single Family Housing Program Director Linda Chadwell and Kentucky Housing Corporation Chief Officer Brenda Weaver. During his speech accepting the award, Davis said “Of all the awards I have received for elected service, this is far and away the most meaningful.” 

Housing Assistance Council Announces SHOP Awards 

FAHE's Members received 20% of this year's Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) awards, announced by the Housing Assistance Council. In total, $1.38 million will be put to work developing 92 affordable homes through these award in Appalachia. Congraulations to the recipients! 

Manufactured Housing Compact Expands into Virginia

Helping Overcome Poverty’s Existence (H.O.P.E.) is blazing a trail in Virginia as the first nonprofit to successfully construct a home using a manufactured unit sold by Frontier Housing, the exclusive non-profit dealer of Clayton Homes. As the leader of FAHE’s manufactured housing initiative, Frontier Housing offers high quality and energy efficient homes to be set on a FHA permanent foundation and titled as real estate, maximizing long-term appreciation.

Click here to get the full story. 

FAHE Wins the Wachovia NEXT Award for Innovation

At a ceremony in December, the Wachovia NEXT Award for Opportunity Finance presented its Innovation award to FAHE. The award acknowledges FAHE’s pioneering application of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to support citizens with special needs in rural areas. This marks a huge accomplishment as these funds historically have been used in cities, seldom touching rural communities. In under two years, FAHE attracted more than $17 million in private equity investments to develop multiple rental housing projects for the disabled. Through its inventive strategy, FAHE bridges market gaps by offering a market-rate return to mainstream financial institutions that want to create opportunities and spark growth in hard-to-serve markets. Click here to read the full story. 

Three New Members Join the FAHE Network

At a meeting of FAHE's Board of Directors in December, three organizations were approved as Members of the FAHE Network. The newest FAHE Members are:  Southern Appalachian Labor School in Kincaid, West Virginia; Kentucky River Community Care, based in Hazard, Kentucky; and Total Action Against Poverty of Roanoke, Virginia.  To learn more about FAHE's Members and how they are changing lives in Appalachia, visit our Members page. 
 

Lodestar Foundation Announces FAHE Among Semi-Finalists for Collaboration Prize

On November 12, 2008 the Lodestar Foundation announced 30 semi-finalists, including FAHE, for The Collaboration Prize, a cash award of $250,000 presented to the most successful collaboration in the nonprofit world. FAHE’s nomination for The Collaboration Prize is in recognition of its “Berea Performance Compacts,” coalitions formed between FAHE and other nonprofits with the help of renowned management and leadership author Douglas K. Smith. FAHE and its affiliated organizations matched work duplicated among them with their specialized skills to decide which services and functions could be centralized to maximize efficiency, letting individual nonprofits focus on providing services to more needy families. FAHE’s nomination also recognizes the “compact” leaders: Frontier Housing, Morehead, KY; Community Housing Partners, Christiansburg, VA; and Appalachia Service Project, Johnson City, TN.

To read more about the Collaboration Prize visit: http://www.thecollaborationprize.org.

You can learn more about the Berea Performance Compacts by visiting our Collaboration Page.
 

FAHE Honored with Award for JustChoice Lending

In October, FAHE’s JustChoice Lending mortgage division was presented the 2008 Homeownership Award by Kentucky Housing Corporation at the 2008 Kentucky Affordable Housing Conference in Lexington. This award recognizes JustChoice Lending’s innovative achievement in providing affordable homeownership solutions. By launching JustChoice Lending, FAHE is one of the first regional non-profit lenders in the country to step up to the plate in today's home lending crisis. Read the full story here or learn more about how FAHE is delivering innovative homeownership solutions by visiting JustChoice Lending's website.