Government : SBA Disaster Assistance Available to Iowa Private, Nonprofit Organizations

Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to certain private, nonprofit organizations (PNPs) in Iowa, following President Obama's federal disaster declaration for Public Assistance (PA) as a result of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that occurred May 19 - June 14, 2013, announced Karen G. Mills, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. PNPs that provide essential services of a governmental nature are eligible for assistance.

SBA disaster assistance is now available in the Iowa counties of Appanoose, Benton, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clay, Clayton, Crawford, Davis, Delaware, Des Moines, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Hardin, Henry, Ida, Iowa, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Lyon, Mahaska, Marshall, Mitchell, Monona, Monroe, Obrien, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Poweshiek, Sac, Sioux, Story, Tama, Wapello, Webster, Winnebago, and Wright. All interested PNPs should begin the process by registering with FEMA. At the time of registration, FEMA will determine if the PNP qualifies to immediately apply for a grant from FEMA's PA program or will be referred to SBA to apply for a low-interest federal disaster loan.

SBA may lend PNPs up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets. SBA can also lend additional funds to help with the cost of making improvements that protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future.

For certain private, nonprofit organizations of any size, SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDLs may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid because of the disaster's impact. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the nonprofit suffered any property damage.

Interest rate is 2.875 percent with terms up to 30 years. The filing deadline to return applications for property damage is September 3, 2013. The deadline to return economic injury applications is April 2, 2014.