ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration announced this week that Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and private nonprofit organizations as a result of a freeze on April 22, 2021.
This declaration covers the primary county of Union and the contiguous counties of Fannin, Lumpkin, Towns, and White in Georgia; and Cherokee and Clay County in North Carolina.
“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities, affected by the same disaster,” explains Kem Fleming director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East.
Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. With the exception of aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, and ranchers.
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 3 percent for small businesses and 2 percent for private nonprofit organizations of all sizes, with terms up to 30 years.
The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and financial resources. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.
These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoanAssistance.sba.gov/ela/s and should apply under SBA declaration #17057, not for the COVID-19 incident.
Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to [email protected].
Loan applications may be downloaded from sba.gov/disaster.
Completed applications should be mailed to:
U.S. Small Business Administration
Processing and Disbursement Center
14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155
Submit completed loan applications to SBA no later than March 16, 2022.
