California businesses have one month as of Tuesday to apply for a Small Business Association federal disaster loan for economic injury caused by the October wildfires in eight Northern California counties including Napa and Sonoma.
Small non-farm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private non-profit organizations of any size may apply until July 12 for the Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to meet working capital needs caused by the fires.
The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid because of the disaster's impact.
The economic assistance is available regardless of whether the applicant sustained property damage. The interest rate is 3.305 percent for businesses and 2.5 percent for private non-profit organizations with terms of up to 30 years. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant's financial condition.
Applications and more information are available online at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela and at the SBA's customer service center at (800) 659-2955 or by email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
