The U.S. Small Business Administration has declared the commonwealth of Massachusetts a disaster area, making SBA assistance available.
The decision followed a request received from Gov. Charlie Baker March 17.
The SBA is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to Massachusetts mall businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza announced today.
“SBA is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist Massachusetts small businesses with federal disaster loans. We will be swift in our efforts to help these small businesses recover from the financial impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19),” said Administrator Carranza.
SBA customer service representatives will be available to answer questions about SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and explain the application process.
“These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. Disaster loans can provide vital economic assistance to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing,” Carranza added.
“Small businesses, private non-profit organizations of any size, small agricultural cooperatives and small aquaculture enterprises that have been financially impacted as a direct result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) since Jan. 31, 2020, may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred,” said Carranza.
Eligibility for Economic Injury Disaster Loans is based on the financial impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The interest rate is 3.75 percent for small businesses. The interest rate for private non-profit organizations is 2.75 percent. SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years and are available to entities without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship.
“The SBA Massachusetts District Office and our partners are available to assist small businesses with applying for disaster assistance and providing recovery technical assistance. We are committed to providing the latest guidance to our lending and community partners”, said Massachusetts District Director Bob Nelson. “We encourage all to sign up for email updates from us by visiting www.sba.gov/MA and by following us on Twitter at @SBA_MA.”
Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
The deadline to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan is Dec. 18, 2020.
For more information about Coronavirus, visit: Coronavirus.gov.
For more information about available SBA resources and services, please visit: SBA.gov/coronavirus.
The disaster declaration makes SBA assistance available in Massachusetts. and the contiguous counties of Hartford, Litchfield, Tolland and Windham in Connecticut; Cheshire, Hillsborough and Rockingham in New Hampshire; Columbia, Dutchess and Rensselaer in New York; Bristol, Newport and Providence in Rhode Island; and Bennington and Windham in Vermont.
