As residents of the Northeast began to get power back last week, most are still faced with difficult times ahead. Communities will begin to rebuild as homeowners and businesses attempt to recover and get back to where they once were. However, the damage in the wake of the storm has left many with an inability to act without assistance. The Small Business Administration is helping to alleviate some of the hardships caused by the hurricane as noted on their
website.
The SBA is encouraging small businesses and nonprofit organizations to go to their website and apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans. You can be eligible even if you did not suffer any direct property damage. The EIDL loans for small businesses and nonprofits are up to $2 million while homeowners can apply for loans up to $200,000 to repair damaged homes and real estate. As of November 7th, the SBA has received over 290,000 applications and more that $277 million has been approved.
The NASE has many members who live on the East Coast. If you live in the disaster declaration area, we encourage you to visit the SBA website and contact the SBA to see if these loans are right for you. We know that rebuilding is not always easy, and we want you to know there are programs available to help. If you lost some property and are unsure of whether to buy or rent office space, check out our article from one of our
Business Experts From the Trenches ... Buying or Renting Office Space. Rebuilding a business is no small task, be sure to look into all the possibilities and solutions to get your business back up and running.
For more information about the SBA loans:
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Apply online at https://disasterloan.sba.gov
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Visit a Disaster Recovery Center in your area: http://www.fema.gov/disaster-recovery-centers
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For information about the disaster loan process, or to have an application mailed to you, you can either email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or call 1-800-659-2955. Those who are deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired can call 1-800-877-8339.
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To download an application, go here: www.sba.gov/disaster
To help the victims:
American Red Cross