The Small Business Administration (SBA) is looking to offer more initiatives to help entrepreneurs recover from Hurricane Helene, starting with a workshop not long after the beginning of the year.
Last week TAP reported that FEMA had extended the deadline for Georgia residents to apply for federal disaster relief by a month. The SBA has officially followed suit, extending its application deadline for its disaster recovery loans.
Business owners can still be approved for loans of up to $2 million for physical damage repairs, while homeowners can apply for up to $500,000 to repair or replace real estate, and up to $100,000 to replace personal property.
Businesses can also apply for up to $2 million in economic injury disaster loans (EIDL) to mitigate the financial impact of a disaster.
In November, the SBA opened one of its portable loan outreach centers (PLOC) in Hephzibah, where locals could consult SBA specialists and apply for the loans, supplementing the SBA recovery center established in October at 3626 Walton Way Ext. While the recovery center is still operating on Walton Way Ext., the Augusta PLOC closed on Dec. 4 due to winter weather.
However, the organization has continued to promote the loans and other federal disaster relief programs in Augusta in the months since the storm, with Brian Beard, public affairs specialist for the SBA’s Office of Disaster Recovery & Resilience, appearing at commission meetings in both Columbia and Richmond counties to present information about the loan program.
In December the SBA participated in Paine College’s Hurricane Helen Recovery Resource Fair, as well as a town hall held by the city, to inform the public about its available federal disaster relief initiatives.
Moreover, the SBA will be part of the Small Business Recovery Resources Workshop, an event hosted by the City of Augusta and the Downtown Development Authority of Augusta (DDA), on Jan. 15.
The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, Greater Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce, the UGA Small Business Development Center and the DDA will join SBA Disaster Assistance in giving presentations on how businesses can recover, or mitigate, their storm losses.
The workshop will be in the Beazley Room in the Augusta Municipal Building, at 535 Telfair St., from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The deadline to apply for SBA disaster loans for physical damages is now Feb. 7, 2025, while the deadline to apply for economic injury loans is June 30, 2025.
For more information visit https://www.disasterassistance.gov/ or www.lendingsba.gov.
