At the December meeting of the Crawford County Commission, representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience described federal loan options for small businesses and nonprofit organizations that suffered economic injury from recent storms.

Matt Lambert of the SBA told commissioners the agency is "the largest provider of federal funding for disaster relief through low interest loans" and said Economic Injury Disaster Loans can be for up to $2,000,000, carry rates "as low as 4%," be amortized for up to 30 years and include no payments for the first 12 months. He said an agency or state disaster declaration is required for some forms of assistance but that businesses experiencing revenue loss may qualify even if their property was not directly damaged.

Lambert walked through application avenues and outreach the SBA is offering to county residents: a national call center at 1‑800‑659‑2599 and information at sba.gov/disaster. He said call‑center access and online applications were available for contiguous counties through a mid‑July deadline the office cited, and offered to provide statistics and additional materials to county staff.

Commissioners and members of the public asked clarifying questions about who may apply and whether individuals must register through the county; Lambert said individual business owners and nonprofit leaders can apply directly and that the SBA provides outreach and materials for local partners and chambers of commerce. He also highlighted mitigation loan uses — such as elevating structures, adding sump pumps or constructing safe rooms — that can be considered in rebuilding projects.

Lambert and Sonia Lalla, also with the SBA, closed by offering follow‑up contact information and printed materials. The commission thanked the presenters and requested staff coordination for local outreach.

What’s next: SBA representatives said they can provide additional application figures on request and left contact cards for follow up.