Disaster Loans Available for Certain Atlantic County Nonprofits

Certain private non-profit organizations (PNP) in three New Jersey counties, including Atlantic County, may be eligible for up to $2 million in disaster loans, the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) announced late Monday morning, July 30.

PNPs that do not provide critical services of a governmental nature in Atlantic, Cumberland and Salem counties may be eligible for the loans in the wake of a Presidential declaration for Public Assistance following the derecho that tore through the Mid-Atlantic Region one month ago, the SBA said.

The declaration was made for state and eligible local governments, and certain nonprofits on July 19.

Examples of nonprofits that may be eligible include food kitchens, homeless shelters, museums, libraries, community centers, schools and colleges, among others, the SBA said.

The SBA urges nonprofits to contact the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management by visiting http://www.ready.nj.gov/ to obtain information about local briefings. According to Frank Skaggs, director of SBA Field Operations Center East in Atlanta, PNPs will be asked to provide information about their organizations, and that information will be used to submit a Request for Public Assistance (RPA).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will then use that information to determine if that PNP provides an essential government service and meets the definition of a “critical facility,” Skaggs said.

FEMA may then provide the PNP with a Public Assistance reimbursement grant for their eligible costs or refer the PNP to SBA for disaster loan assistance, according to Skaggs.

PNP may borrow up to $2 million for repairs and replacements, Skaggs said. There’s also the possibility that the SBA may increase loans by up to 20 percent of the total amount of disaster damage to real estate and/or leasehold improvements, verified by SBA, to make improvements that lessen the risk of property damage by similar future disasters, Skaggs said.

SBA also offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs, such as ongoing operating expenses to PNP organizations of all sizes, Skaggs said.  Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether the organization suffered any physical property damage, according to Skaggs.

Interest rates are as low as 3 percent with terms up to 30 years, according to the SBA, which sets the loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.  Loan applications can be downloaded from www.sba.gov.  Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. 

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Sept. 17, 2012. 

The deadline to return economic injury applications is April 19, 2013.