SBA Amends Disaster Declaration: Disaster Assistance Now Available to Private Nonprofit Organizations in Petroleum County

SACRAMENTO, California, Sept. 21 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release:

Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to certain private nonprofit organizations in the additional county of Petroleum following the amendment to President Trump's Aug. 30, 2018, major disaster declaration for Public Assistance as a result of flooding that occurred April 12 - May 6, 2018, announced Administrator Linda McMahon 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 Blaine, Hill, Liberty, Petroleum, Pondera, Toole and Valley counties.

"Private nonprofit organizations should contact Recovery Section Supervisor Tim Thennis of the Montana Disaster and Emergency Recovery Services by calling (406) 324-4783 or emailing [email protected] (link sends e-mail) to obtain information about applicant briefings. At the briefings, private nonprofit representatives will need to provide information about their organization," said Director Tanya N. Garfield of SBA's Disaster Field Operations Center-West. FEMA will use that information to determine if the private nonprofit provides an "essential governmental service" and is a "critical facility" as defined by law. If so, FEMA may provide the private nonprofit with a Public Assistance grant for their eligible costs. If not, FEMA may refer the private nonprofit to 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 the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future.

For certain private nonprofit organizations of any size, SBA also offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet 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 private nonprofit suffered any property damage.

The interest rate is 2.5 percent with terms up to 30 years. The deadline to apply for property damage is Oct. 29, 2018. The deadline to apply for economic injury is May 30, 2019.

Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Applicants may also call SBA's Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email [email protected] for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.