The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses and most private nonprofit organizations in Georgia of the deadline to submit disaster loan applications for economic injury caused by drought beginning on Aug. 19, 2014.  The deadline to apply for a working capital disaster loan is June 15, 2015.

"Businesses that suffered economic losses as a result of the disaster and want to apply for low-interest loans from the SBA are urged to do so before the June 15deadline," said Frank Skaggs, Director of SBA Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.  

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.  Nurseries are eligible to apply for economic injury disaster loans for losses caused by drought conditions.

Low-interest disaster loans are available in: Baker, Brooks, Calhoun, Colquitt, Cook, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Thomas, Tift and Worth counties in Georgia.

Working capital disaster loans up to $2 million are available at 2.625 percent for private 
nonprofit organizations and 4 percent for small businesses, with terms up to 30 years. The loans are intended to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other expenses that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred.  To be considered for this assistance, eligible entities need to apply by the deadline.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA's secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Applications and program information are available by calling the SBA's Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by sending an email to [email protected]. Loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA's website at www.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.

The deadline to return economic injury applications is June 15, 2015.

For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Program, visit our website at www.sba.gov/disaster.