Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to certain private nonprofit organizations in Nebraska following President Biden’s federal disaster declaration for Public Assistance as a result of severe winter storm and straight-line winds that occurred April 6-7, announced Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Private nonprofits that provide essential services of a governmental nature are eligible for assistance.
These low-interest federal disaster loans are available in Banner, Cheyenne, Dawes, Garden, Kimball, Morrill, Scotts Bluff and Sioux counties.
Private nonprofit organizations should contact Recovery Section Manager Lexy Hindt of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency by calling (402) 471-7182, emailing lexy.hindt@nebraska.gov or visiting https://nema.nebraska.gov/public-assistance.php to obtain information about applicant briefings,” said Francisco Sánchez Jr., associate administrator for the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the Small Business Administration. “At the briefings, private nonprofit representatives will need to provide information about their organization,” continued Sánchez. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will use that information to determine if the private nonprofit provides an “essential governmental service” and is a “critical facility” as defined by law. FEMA may provide the private nonprofit with a Public Assistance grant for their eligible costs. SBA encourages all private nonprofit organizations to apply with SBA for disaster loan assistance.
SBA may lend private nonprofits up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets. SBA can also lend additional funds to help with the cost of improvements to protect, prevent or minimize disaster damage from occurring in the future.
For certain private nonprofit organizations of any size, SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help with meeting working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic Injury Disaster Loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid because of the disaster’s impact. Economic injury assistance is available regardless of whether the nonprofit suffered any property damage.
The interest rate is 3.25 percent with terms up to 30 years. The deadline to apply for property damage is July 23, 2024. The deadline to apply for economic injury is Feb. 24, 2025.
Interest does not begin to accrue until 12 months from the date of the first disaster loan disbursement. SBA disaster loan repayment begins 12 months from the date of the first disbursement.
Applicants may apply online and receive additional disaster assistance information at SBA.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.