ATLANTA - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today that Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) are available in parts of Wisconsin for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private nonprofit organizations affected by the drought that began Aug. 1, 2023.
The declaration covers the primary counties of Burnett, Sawyer, Washburn and the contiguous counties of Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Douglas, Polk, Price, and Rusk in Wisconsin, and the contiguous counties of Chisago and Pine in Minnesota.
“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities, affected by the same disaster,” said Kem Fleming, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East.
Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. Apart from aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers and ranchers, but nurseries are eligible to apply for EIDLs for losses caused by drought conditions.
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 4 percent for small businesses and 2.375 percent for private nonprofit organizations, with terms up to 30 years. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition. Eligibility is based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources. These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela/s/ and should apply under SBA declaration #18058.
Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services), or by sending an email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Loan applications can be downloaded from the SBA’s website at sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
Submit completed loan applications to SBA no later than April 8, 2024.