The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued a reminder to small businesses and private nonprofit organizations in Iowa about the upcoming deadline for applying for federal disaster loans. These loans are intended to mitigate economic losses resulting from severe weather events, including storms, flooding, straight-line winds, and tornadoes that occurred between June 16 and July 23, 2024.
The disaster declaration encompasses several counties across multiple states: Buena Vista, Calhoun, Cass, Cedar, Cherokee, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Dickinson, Emmet, Hancock, Harrison, Humboldt, Ida, Kossuth, Lyon, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Muscatine, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas Pottawattamie Sac Scott Shelby Sioux Webster Woodbury Wright in Iowa; Rock Island in Illinois; Jackson Martin Nobles Rock in Minnesota; Burt Dakota Douglas Sarpy Thurston Washington in Nebraska; and Lincoln Minnehaha Union in South Dakota.
Eligible entities under this declaration can access the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. This includes small businesses and private nonprofits that have experienced financial setbacks due to the disaster. However agricultural producers such as farmers or ranchers are not eligible unless they operate small aquaculture enterprises.
These EIDLs are designed to cover working capital needs stemming from the disaster. They can be used for expenses like fixed debts payroll accounts payable and other bills that would have been covered if not for the disaster's impact. The loan amounts can reach up to $2 million with interest rates set at 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for nonprofits with repayment terms extending up to 30 years. Interest accrual and payments begin one year after the first loan disbursement.
Applications can be submitted online via SBA.gov/disaster or by contacting SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Telecommunications relay services are available by dialing 7-1-1 for those who are deaf hard of hearing or have a speech disability.
The deadline for submitting economic injury applications is March 24.