Sara Morgan

Sara Morgan has worked for nearly thirty years to improve the economic strength of Appalachia. She is an expert in financing housing, infrastructure, community facilities, nonprofits, and community development. Ms. Morgan has been with Fahe for 20 years and recently led two successful applications to the CDFI Bond Guarantee program, resulting in $60M coming to Appalachia and raised $50M from the USDA Community Facilities Relending Program for communities of persistent poverty.

Under her leadership, Fahe became the first nonprofit in the country to be approved to launch a Regional Broker Network, became a USDA 502 Direct Intermediary that brings over $70M in new mortgages to Appalachia annually, and was responsible for Fahe being certified to sell and service loans for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Her expertise was key to the launch of Fahe’s Housing Equity Funds which to date has raised and placed $41.25M, creating and preserving over 516 affordable rental homes. Overseeing fundraising, development, and innovation, Ms. Morgan raises and deploys capital of nearly $150M annually. During FY2021, Fahe made total direct investments of $173.2M. Total capital under management including investments managed and loans serviced for other organizations topped $279M. Since its inception in 1980, Fahe has invested $1.32B generating $1.69B in finance. This investment is channeled through Fahe’s Members and community partners, directly changing the lives of over 778,114 people.

Ms. Morgan is a 2012 alumnus of the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Achieving Excellence program, and holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Berea College. She is a certified CDBG grant administrator. She serves on the Boards of Invest Appalachia, Homeownership Council of America, as well as the Freddie Mac Affordable Housing Advisory Council, the Fannie Mae Rural Duty To Serve Advisory Council, and the Steering Committee of Homeownership Alliance.