This week, Bryan Lee sat down with Stephen A. Clark, Public Affairs Specialist with the US Small Business Administration, Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience. He’s in South Carolina because of Hurricane Helene to help business and homeowners get information to disaster survivors and others in the community to connect federal disaster recover resources as well as other resources to the people, businesses, and nonprofits. Part of that role is directing disaster survivors to the locations where they may apply in-person for SBA loans and get that face-to-face help getting answers to their questions.
Below is the information you need to apply for a disaster relief loan with SBA.
What is SBA and what does it do?
The SBA is the U.S. Small Business Administration. We are a cabinet-level federal agency. Our mission is “The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) helps Americans start, grow, and build resilient businesses.” More specifically, I work on the disaster recovery mission of the SBA traveling to areas declared under a federal disaster declaration as eligible for specific types of assistance such as SBA low-interest disaster loans.
“The mission of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience is to connect individuals, businesses, and private non-profits with SBA disaster assistance programs and improve disaster recovery outcomes and economic resilience by helping communities prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against disasters of all types.”
The SBA has low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters, private nonprofits, and businesses. Disaster survivors should not wait to settle with their insurance company before applying for a disaster loan. If a survivor does not know how much of their loss will be covered by insurance or other sources, SBA can make a low-interest disaster loan for the total loss up to its loan limits, provided the borrower agrees to use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay the loan. We have additional funds for mitigation of future damages.
If your loan application is approved, you may be eligible for additional funds to cover the cost of improvements that will protect your property against future damage. Examples of improvements include retaining walls, seawalls, sump pumps, etc.
Mitigation loan money would be in addition to the amount of the approved loan but may not exceed 20 percent of total amount of physical damage to real property, including leasehold improvements, and personal property as verified by SBA to a maximum of $500,000 for home loans. It is not necessary for the description of improvements and cost estimates to be submitted with the application. SBA approval of the mitigating measures will be required before any loan increase.
What is available for businesses through SBA for Helene?
The SBA has two programs for businesses.
Business Physical Disaster Loans – Loans to businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, non-profit organizations such as charities, churches, private universities, etc., are also eligible.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) – Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster.
These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period. EIDL does not require any physical damage by the borrower for private nonprofits and small businesses. The EIDL is a working capital loan to help pay for ordinary and necessary operating expenses to recover from revenue loss due to disruptions to customers, suppliers, employees, and the local economy due to the disaster.
What is available to individuals and homeowners for Helene?
The SBA has low-interest disaster loans for homeowners and renters. These are loans for damage to your primary residence. The loans are for homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property, including automobiles. We work with another federal government agency, FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency which has grants for homeowners and renters who have damage to their primary residence in a program FEMA calls “Individual Assistance.”
What are the deadlines that people need to know?
The physical damage loan application deadline is January 7, 2025. That is also the application deadline for FEMA grants for homeowners and renters through their individual assistance program. The application deadline for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) is June 30, 2025.
How do people access this information and application?
Apply in person at a Recovery Center or apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA’s secure website HERE . The South Carolina specific link HERE. We have a PDF list, attached, of the locations to receive assistance on that website.
The closest options for the Clemson Area are the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) where you can get in-person assistance applying for FEMA assistance as well as SBA disaster loans. That center is located at the Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson, SC 29621.
Currently that center is open until December 31, 2024 and is open Monday to Friday 9:00AM to 6:30PM and Saturdays 9:00AM to 5:00PM. Currently there are 10 FEMA DRCs and 2 SBA Business Recovery Centers in South Carolina where any disaster survivors can get in-person help applying for an SBA disaster loan. You can also get a financial advisor, accountant, or attorney to apply for you.
How do people connect with you?
If you have questions, please call my mobile number (571) 564-0240 or send me an email at stephen.clark@sba.gov. I will point you in the right direction to get additional assistance answering your questions and applying for the available SBA and other federal recovery resources. I can get you the current fact sheet, locations to receive assistance as well as information about all kinds of SBA resources. I really want to highlight the availability of help for small businesses from the South Carolina Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
In the Clemson area, this is based out of Clemson University. Through free consulting, low-cost seminars and links to resources, the SC SBDC helps jump-start startups and makes existing businesses thrive. SBDC services are available to all legal South Carolina for-profit small business ventures in any stage of development - from a person with an innovative product but no idea how to move forward to the owner of a company looking to capture new markets. They can help with a disaster recovery business plan. They are available at clemsonsbdc@clemson.edu or by phone at (864) 370-1545 or (864) 326-5504.
