SBA offering working capital loans for South Jersey heat, drought relief

Assistance is available for small businesses in South Jersey detrimentally affected by heat and drought last summer, but the deadline to submit your application is just under a month away.

Small businesses, agricultural cooperatives, businesses utilizing aquaculture and most nonprofits from Atlantic, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties have until July 1 to submit applications for the U.S. Small Business Association’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, due to heat and drought from June 24 – July 21, 2018.

The working capital loans are available up to $2 million, the SBA said, with terms of up to 30 years and interest rates of 3.61 percent for eligible small businesses, and 2.5 percent for nonprofits.

Both farm and non-farm related entities who suffered financial loss as a direct result of the circumstances are eligible to apply. However, the SBA said, loans cannot be provided to agricultural producers, farmers or ranchers – with the exception for aquaculture. Nurseries are eligible for the federal economic injury disaster loans, though, for losses caused by drought conditions.

“SBA’s disaster loan program can assist many small businesses in the impacted area, including small firms that depend on the agricultural industry,” SBA Regional Administrator Steve Bulger said in a prepared statement.

“The five named Garden State counties are eligible because they are in or adjacent to where much of the heat and drought occurred last year,” he added.

Interested and eligible parties can submit an application for the program online.