News

SBA Disaster Loans Available for Chatham County Businesses and Nonprofits Affected by Drought

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the availability of low-interest federal disaster loans for small businesses and private nonprofit organizations in Chatham County that sustained economic losses due to the drought that began December 15, 2025.

The assistance is offered through the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, which provides working capital to help eligible organizations meet ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster.

What the Loans Cover

Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster, even if the business or nonprofit did not sustain any physical damage. Funds may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could not be paid because of the disaster.

Loan Terms

  • Loans of up to $2 million
  • Interest rates as low as 4 percent for small businesses and 3.625 percent for private nonprofits
  • Terms of up to 30 years
  • No payments due until 12 months after the date of the first loan disbursement

The SBA determines loan amounts and terms based on each applicant's financial condition.

Who Is Eligible

The program is available to eligible small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and private nonprofit organizations, including faith-based organizations, with financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for aquaculture enterprises. The applicant business must be located in the declared disaster area, and only uninsured or otherwise uncompensated losses are eligible.

How to Apply

Applications may be submitted online through the MySBA Loan Portal at sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also contact the SBA Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or by email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or who have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The deadline to apply is December 10, 2026.

For additional preparedness and recovery resources, contact the Chatham Emergency Management Agency.

 

Additional information can also be found here: 

2026_04_10_GA-20024 #21522 Fact Sheet (Revised).pdf

Corrected_ODR&R_COM_GA-20024-02_(SA)_Initial_2026_06_05.pdf