The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Small business owners should apply now for federal disaster loans, even if they think they don’t want or need them, since it’s likely to take more than a month for businesses to receive the funds. That isn’t our opinion, it’s coming directly from the Federal Government and members of Congress. Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available up to $2 million each, at interest rates of 3.75%.
The CARES Act, which provided additional assistance for small business owners and non-profits, including the opportunity to get up to a $10,000 Advance on an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). This Advance may be available even if your EIDL application was declined or is still pending, and will be forgiven.
If you wish to apply for the Advance on your EIDL, please visit www.SBA.gov/Disaster as soon as possible to fill out a new, streamlined application. In order to qualify for the Advance, you need to submit this new application even if you previously submitted an EIDL application. Applying for the Advance will not impact the status or slow your existing application.
The SBA held a webinar to cover the process of applying for a Disaster Loan. You can access the portal here, and review the process below. If you’d like even more help on navigating the process, we really recommend this explainer.