Resources Available for Small Businesses
Impacted by Hurricane Debby
Florida SBDC Network State Office (Pensacola, Fla.) – The Florida SBDC Network encourages small businesses impacted by Hurricane Debby to seek available disaster assistance.
“Less than a year ago, we were in this same region recovering from Hurricane Idalia,” said Greg Britton, state director of the Florida SBDC Network. “Now, as we work with business owners from the area recover from Hurricane Debby, I am in awe of their resilience. Our team statewide is committed to working with our partners to help impacted small businesses secure the necessary resources they need to recover and reopen as quickly as possible.”
How the Florida SBDC Network is helping small businesses recover
The Florida SBDC is here to help small business owners navigate the disaster recovery process following Hurricane Debby. The Florida SBDC deployed its Mobile Assistance Center, an RV equipped as a mobile office to provide on-site support, and disaster recovery specialists to severely impacted areas to provide assistance to small businesses affected by the storm. Disaster recovery specialists have been available daily to provide confidential, no-cost consulting to help affected businesses prepare disaster loan applications and with other post-disaster challenges.
As a principal responder in the state’s Emergency Support Function (ESF) 18 for Business and Industry, the Florida SBDC Network works closely with the state and SBA to coordinate recovery efforts and establish Business Recovery Centers (BRCs) and One-Stop Business Resource Centers. Florida SBDC disaster specialists are working alongside the state and SBA to provide information about resources available and assist businesses in completing state and federal disaster loan applications.
Currently Available Assistance
State
At the state level, FloridaCommerce has activated the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan (EBL) Program. The loan program provides short-term, zero-interest loans to small businesses who experienced economic injury or physical damage due to Hurricane Debby.
Loans approved through the Emergency Bridge Loan Program are intended to “bridge the gap” between the time a disaster impacts a business and when a business has secured longer term recovery funding, such as federally or commercially available loans, insurance claims, or other resources.
Eligible small businesses with 100 employees or less may apply for loans of up to $50,000 through the program. Businesses must also be located in Florida, have been established prior to August 1, 2024, be located in an eligible county, must have been economically or physically damaged by Hurricane Debby, have a credit score of 600 or above, and must have repaid all outstanding EBLs.
Visit www.FloridaJobs.org/EBL to learn more about the program, view the lending guidelines and required documentation, and to complete an application. The deadline to apply is September 30, 2024.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has established the Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program to make low-interest or interest-free loans to agricultural and aquaculture producers who have experienced damage from Hurricane Debby. Eligible agriculture and aquaculture producers may apply for loans of up to $500,000 to restore, repair, or replace essential physical property, including fences, equipment, greenhouses, and other buildings, or to remove vegetative debris.
Visit https://disasterloan.fdacs.gov/ to learn more about the program, view the lending guidelines and required documentation, and to complete an application.
Federal
Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are also available to eligible businesses who suffered revenue loss or physical damage from the storm in eligible counties. Through the SBA’s Physical Disaster Loan program, businesses and private nonprofit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.
The SBA also provides working capital loans for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations, caused by the disaster through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). EIDL assistance is available for the primary declared counties, as well as contiguous counties, regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is October 9, 2024. The deadline to return economic injury applications is May 12, 2025.
More Information
For more information on available disaster loans, eligibility, BRC locations, and to find a Florida SBDC near you, please visit https://floridasbdc.org/debby/.
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