ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today that it has extended the deadline for survivors of the severe storms and flooding from June 16 through July 4 to file their applications for disaster assistance. Minnesota residents now have until Oct. 27, to apply for federal disaster loans for physical damage.
The disaster declaration covers the primary counties of Blue Earth, Cook, Cottonwood, Faribault, Freeborn, Goodhue, Itasca, Jackson, Lake, Le Sueur, Martin, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Rice, Rock, St. Louis, Steele, Waseca and Watonwan in Minnesota, which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA. Small businesses and most private nonprofit organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Aitkin, Beltrami, Brown, Carlton, Cass, Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Koochiching, Lyon, Olmsted, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Scott, Sibley and Wabasha in Minnesota; Dickinson, Emmet, Howard, Kossuth, Lyon, Mitchell, Osceola, Winnebago and Worth in Iowa; Minnehaha and Moody in South Dakota; and Douglas, Pepin and Pierce in Wisconsin.
With the changes to FEMA’s Sequence of Delivery, survivors are now encouraged to simultaneously apply for FEMA grants and the SBA low-interest disaster loan assistance to fully recover. FEMA grants are intended to cover necessary expenses and serious needs not paid by insurance or other sources. The SBA disaster loan program is designed for your long-term recovery, to make you whole and get you back to your pre-disaster condition. Do not wait on the decision for a FEMA grant; apply online and receive additional disaster assistance information at sba.gov/disaster.
Applicants may also call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
Submit completed loan applications to SBA no later than Oct. 27, 2024. The deadline to submit economic injury applications is April 29, 2025.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.