Deadline approaching for working capital loans

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private nonprofit organizations that Tuesday, August 21, is the filing deadline for federal economic injury disaster loans in the Vermont counties of Caledonia, Essex, Orange, and Windsor, as a result of excessive moisture and cool temperatures occurring May 1 through September 10, 2017.

“These counties are eligible because they are contiguous to one or more primary counties in New Hampshire,” said Kem Flemming, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta. “The Small Business Administration recognizes that disasters do not usually stop at county or state lines. For that reason, counties adjacent to primary counties named in the declaration are included.”

Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm related and nonfarm related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. With the exception of aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers.

The loans are for working capital and can be up to $2-million with interest rates of 3.215 percent for eligible small businesses, and 2.5 percent for nonprofit organizations, and terms up to 30 years.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at Disasterloan.sba.gov.

Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s customer service center at (800) 659-2955, (800) 877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, or by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

Loan applications can be downloaded from the SBA’s website at sba.gov. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center at 14925 Kingsport Road in Fort Worth, Texas 76155.

Completed loan applications must be returned to SBA no later than Tuesday, August 21. –– from the U.S. Small Business Administration.