SBA announces disaster loan assistance for Wilson County storm survivors

Danita Pasley, a representative of the Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, told the Wilson County steering committee that the SBA is making low-interest disaster loans available to households, small businesses and nonprofits after storms in April 2025 and a presidential disaster declaration issued in June 2025.

Pasley said the SBA has approved about $1,900,000 in loans under the current declaration. She described three main types of assistance: physical-damage disaster loans for homeowners and renters, economic injury disaster loans to provide working capital for businesses and nonprofits, and additional mitigation funding to reduce future losses.

Under the physical-damage program, Pasley said individual homeowners may apply for loans to repair or replace a primary residence for up to $500,000, with interest rates “as low as 2.75%.” She said personal property loss, including automobiles, may be covered up to $100,000. For businesses, churches, nonprofits, agricultural cooperatives and aquaculture operations, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program provides working-capital assistance, Pasley said.

Pasley said eligible applicants can also request mitigation funding equal to up to 20% of a verified physical loss, with the mitigation amount capped at $500,000. She told the committee that SBA loans often disburse faster than insurance proceeds and encouraged eligible residents and organizations to apply.

Pasley gave two deadlines during her remarks. She said the deadline for physical-damage loan applications is Aug. 19, 2025, and that the deadline for economic injury applications is March 2026. She also offered in-person application help and said the SBA can assist applicants who feel intimidated by the process; at one point she said staff can help “get it done before Aug. 9,” a timeline that differs from the Aug. 19 date she also gave.

Pasley said she has brochures and fact sheets and that the SBA Disaster Assistance Center that serves the area is based in Nashville. She left business cards and offered to coordinate with the mayor’s office so the county can distribute information to residents and local officials.

Wilson County steering committee members asked procedural questions and agreed to distribute Pasley’s fact sheets through the mayor’s office and county staff, according to the committee discussion that followed her presentation.