U.S. SBA Disaster Recovery - March 19th Tornado

Stephen Clark with the US SBA is working with a team from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on outreach and engagement for disaster recovery for the severe storms and tornadoes which occurred March 19, 2025 in Bartholomew County (#21057). The SBA has low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters, private nonprofits, and businesses. The physical damage loan application deadline is June 23, 2025.
 
Disaster survivors should not wait to settle with their insurance company before applying for a disaster loan. If a survivor does not know how much of their loss will be covered by insurance or other sources, SBA can make a low-interest disaster loan for the total loss up to its loan limits, provided the borrower agrees to use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay the loan.
 
In addition, SBA has an additional resource for all the counties included in the disaster declaration with our Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. SBA has low-interest Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) that do not require any physical damage by the borrower for private nonprofits and small businesses. The EIDL is a working capital loan to help pay for ordinary and necessary operating expenses to recover from revenue loss. 
 
Important points about SBA low-interest Disaster Loans:
1.           No application fee.
2.           No obligation to accept the loan after it is approved. Applicants/Survivors have 60-days to decide to accept and can ask for more time if they need to reevaluate their recovery situation.
3.           No prepayment penalty.
4.           No accrued interest for first 12 months of the loan.
5.           No required payments for first 12 months of the loan.
 
Apply in person at a Recovery Center or apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA’s secure website at https://lending.sba.gov. The specific link for this declaration covering Bartholomew County: https://lending.sba.gov/search-disaster/?disaster=IN-20009.
 
Applicants are encouraged to submit their loan applications promptly for review. The SBA disaster loan program is designed for your long-term recovery, to make you whole and get you back to your pre-disaster condition.
 
We are available to attend meetings of organizations and give presentations/interviews across the disaster declaration area. Outreach and community engagement is our goal. Please feel free to share my information and we will put events on our calendar to provide disaster relief information where it is needed. 

Stephen A. Clark
Public Affairs Specialist
Field Operations Center - East
 
CURRENTLY DEPLOYED IN INDIANA
 
Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience
U.S. Small Business Administration
101 Marietta St. NW, Suite 700
Atlanta, GA  30303
Direct: (571) 564-0240
stephen.clark@sba.gov