Wells Fargo Housing Foundation Awards $100,000 Grant to Improve Rural Appalachia
Berea, KY (PRWEB) September 30, 2015 -- Wells Fargo Housing Foundation has announced a $100,000 grant to Appalachian community developer, Fahe, to further their development and execution of a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) “Bootcamp” for leaders of Appalachian organizations.
The “CDFI Bootcamp” will build on Fahe’s long standing and effective engagement of the CDFI Fund to train leaders and provide one-on-one technical assistance so organizations can grow their capacity to deliver much-needed services such as affordable housing. Fahe will also provide access to lending capital for use at modest terms to the participants as needed. Utilizing this capital will help the organizations build up a track record of lending, a key precursor to becoming CDFIs themselves. This first class of participants will primarily represent rural organizations from Fahe’s Membership that have Revolving Loan Funds. The first round of graduates will be called the Wells Fargo Fellows in honor of the Foundation’s investment in this project.
“Wells Fargo shares Fahe’s commitment to creating opportunities and access to resources that have the potential to strengthen rural communities and the families living in them,” said Connie Wright, Vice President, Assistant Director & National Relationship Manager, Wells Fargo Housing Foundation. “The CDFI Bootcamps are a great way to help leaders with local perspectives develop expertise to deliver affordable capital that improves their communities.”
Fahe will also document the experiences of the first class. This documentation will allow the development of well-informed risk ratios, best practices, and will provide education for the rest of the Fahe Membership as well as other organizations that could benefit from the experience.
Over the past five years alone, Fahe has been entrusted with approximately $6 million in CDFI Funds to provide the people of Appalachia with needed monies for housing and community development. Wells Fargo’s $100,000 grant for the “CDFI Boot Camp” creates an even wider distribution of needed funds by training and supporting effective leaders in the Appalachian region.
About Fahe
Fahe provides Appalachian families the tools they need to build a better life through affordable housing, job creation, and the establishment of healthier communities. Fahe is a network organization comprised of 50+ members serving the Appalachian areas of Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Maryland. Since its inception in 1980, Fahe and its members have guided over 200,000 families to better lives, made over $469 million in direct investment to the region, and achieved a total cumulative financial impact of over a billion dollars. http://www.fahe.org
About Wells Fargo Housing Foundation
In 2014, the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation donated nearly $20 million in support of affordable housing initiatives serving low-and moderate-income households – including for seniors, veterans, and families – through neighborhood stabilization and community revitalization efforts. Since its inception in 1993, the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation has invested more than $150 million to such efforts, along with mobilizing more than 4.6 million team member volunteer hours to build and rehabilitate more than 5,500 homes and counting.
Aaron Phelps, [email protected], http://www.fahe.org, +1 (859) 986-2321 Ext: 2115, [email protected]
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