The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the opening of a Disaster Loan Outreach Center (DLOC) in Sedgwick County, Kansas, to assist small businesses, private nonprofit organizations, and residents affected by severe storms and flooding from June 3-7.
Starting Tuesday, July 8, SBA customer service representatives will be available at the Wichita center to help with disaster loan applications. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments can also be scheduled online at appointment.sba.gov.
The Sedgwick County DLOC is located at the Ruffin Building on 100 N. Broadway St., Suite 105 in Wichita. It will operate Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closing on Thursday, July 17.
Another DLOC is open in Butler County at the Historic Courthouse in El Dorado. This center operates during the same hours but will close permanently on Thursday, July 24.
Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA stated: "When disasters strike, SBA’s Disaster Loan Outreach Centers perform an important role by assisting small businesses and their communities."
Eligible businesses and nonprofits can apply for physical disaster loans up to $2 million for repairing or replacing damaged assets. Homeowners and renters may apply for loans up to $100,000 for personal property damage or up to $500,000 for primary residence repairs.
Applicants might qualify for a loan increase of up to 20% of verified physical damages for mitigation purposes such as insulating pipes or installing storm windows.
The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program offers working capital loans even if no physical damage occurred. These loans cater to small businesses and certain nonprofits impacted financially by the disaster.
Interest rates are set as low as 4% for small businesses, 3.62% for nonprofits, and 2.81% for homeowners and renters with terms extending up to 30 years. Payments begin one year after the first disbursement.
Applications can be submitted online via sba.gov/disaster or through SBA's Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. The filing deadline for physical property damage applications is August 26, while economic injury applications are due by March 27 next year.