By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Natural disasters cost property owners and businesses millions of dollars each year. Insurance covers much of the repairs necessary to get individuals and businesses back on their feet, but often insurance alone is not enough. Organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provide assistance in many cases, but even those organizations don’t provide enough to make the damaged property or business whole and return them to pre-disaster conditions. Fortunately, other organizations such as the Small Business Administration (SBA) can provide assistance in the form of low interest loans and other programs.
Joseph Davis, Jr. of the SBA said that currently they are working on the most recent disaster declaration and preparing for the next declaration.
“What you can apply for now is economic relief,” Davis said. “It’s a working capital loan for small businesses.”
There are many ways a business can be damaged that allows them to apply for aid, Davis said. It doesn’t have to be direct, physical damage to structures or buildings.
“Sometimes when we have a natural disaster a supply chain could be interrupted, or something else that is external to the business could hurt a business in the long run,” Davis said. “That’s why we have economic relief, and that can provide working capital to keep the business afloat and keep the lights on. A person could apply for this if their insurance didn’t take care of them, and SBA could be there to cover those assets.”
Davis said the fiscal damage declaration period expired on July 22, but that the economic injury declaration has a deadline of February 24, 2025. The reason for this, he explained, is that a business might not realize they have economic damages until months after the disaster. Businesses who can qualify for SBA assistance include small businesses, small agriculture cooperatives, and most private and nonprofit organizations qualify. Davis said that he encourages everyone who needs assistance to apply regardless of their ability to secure a conventional loan. All SBA loans are given at a low interest rate as well.
“SBA is aware of the people who are not prepared for an economic disaster or economic injury, and our objective is to keep that business afloat,” Davis said. “And on an SBA loan the first payment is deferrable for up to one year after the loan is approved, and interest is not compounded for that length of time as well.”
Davis said that it is crucial in a disaster scenario for businesses to get back up and running as quickly as possible.
“If the local gas station gets reopened quickly, and the local grocery store, then the residents will be able to come back more quickly,” Davis said. “People have to have a community to come back to, so that’s why SBA comes in and provides the necessities for people to return to their communities.”
When a business applies for an SBA loan, they will need to provide their tax information in order to verify income, Davis said. The application is very simple, with the applicant providing their personal and financial information such as how much is spent and how much the business takes in from sources of revenue. The SBA also sets up their Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) locations in the affected area where applicants can come for assistance in filling everything out.
Davis also said not to assume you wouldn’t qualify if your business is not a conventional one or even one that provides your main source of income. A person who is regularly employed and also runs their own business can apply on behalf of that business as long as the business has tax records the SBA can use to establish its criteria. There would just have to be some financial records for that business.
The main thing is to contact the SBA, Davis said. Affected business can reach out to the SBA through their portal https://lending.sba.gov or by email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. They can also be contacted by phone at 1-800-659-2955 for further assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
