The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has opened multiple business recovery locations throughout the state to assist with disaster relief in the wake of the red tide emergency. SBA staff can provide information, answer questions about the SBA economic injury disaster loans and help business owners complete applications for the loans.
These SBA loans, available to small business owners in counties impacted by red tide, can provide up to $2 million for working capital needs caused by the red tide disaster. As of October 2, 2018, these counties include:
- Charlotte
- Collier
- DeSoto
- Glades
- Hardee
- Hendry
- Hillsborough
- Lee
- Manatee
- Pasco
- Pinellas
- Polk
- Sarasota
Eligibility for these low-interest loans is based upon the size and type of business as well as its financial resources. Money from the SBA loans can be used for payroll, accounts payable, fixed debts and other bills that could have been paid had the red tide disaster not occurred. They cannot be used to replace lost sales or profits.
Find an SBA business recovery loan location near you:
Lee County
City/County Annex Building
1825 Hendry St.
Ft. Myers, FL 33901
M-F 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Manatee County
Manatee County Library, Island Branch
5701 Marina Rd
Holmes Beach, FL 34217
M-F 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Pasco County
Smartstart Program Manager
West Pasco Entrepreneur Center
4532 US Highway 19
New Port Richey, FL 35652
M-F 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Pinellas County
Epicenter
13805 58th Street North
Suite 2-200
Clearwater, FL 33760
M-F 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sarasota County
Bay Ridge Park
4430 South Lockwood Rd
Sarasota, FL 34231
M, W, F 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Business owners can apply for the SBA loans here or can download an application here. For more information, please call 1-800-659-2955 (or 1-800-877-8339 for the dead and hard-of-hearing) or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
The filing deadline to return applications for economic injury is June 4, 2019.