U.S. Small Business Administration opens disaster loan outreach center in Blair

At a small room in the back of First Lutheran Church in Blair, representatives with the Small Business Administration are ready to meet with business owners and residents who suffered property damage or economic loss from severe storms in late April.

“Disaster loan outreach centers are just part of our long-term recovery efforts to make sure every Nebraska resident that was affected by these severe storms, straight line winds and tornadoes have access to our disaster loan resources,” said Marielle Alipio with the SBA Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience.

Right after the storms hit, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, opened two disaster recovery centers while the SBA opened a business recovery center in Nebraska, according to Alipio.

On Monday, the Blair disaster recovery center was converted into the SBA disaster loan outreach center.

Alipio said the outreach center allows the administration to meet face-to-face with storm victims through the application process as loan application deadlines approach.

“We just want to continue to be there in person to with our customer service representatives to answer any questions about SBA’s disaster loan service program,” Alipio said.

The SBA offers three types of disaster loans, each with no interest accrual for the first 12 months and an interest rate much lower than the market.

Residents of Douglas and Washington Counties are eligible for business physical disaster loans and home disaster loans to replace damaged property.

Business physical disaster loans are available to business of any size and private, non-profit organizations including churches and private universities.

Nebraskans from Burt, Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy, Saunders and Washington counties may qualify for economic injury disaster loans which help small businesses meet financial obligations impacted by the April storms.

The SBA also offers an additional 20% of the approved loan amount for hazard mitigation services, such as upgrading building materials to protect from hail or adding a sump pump to move standing water.

The deadline for physical damage loan applications is July 15, while the economic injury loan applications are available until Feb. 3, 2025.