Restore Louisiana Awards First Set of Payments in Small Business Loan Program

Today, the Restore Louisiana Small Business Loan Program issued the first set of checks to qualified small businesses affected by the 2020-21 disaster events. The loan program, administered by the Louisiana Office of Community Development, is a federally funded program that provides partially forgivable, zero-percent interest loans for non-construction expenses to eligible small businesses and non-profits.

Louisianas small businesses and non-profits are critical contributors to our local and state economies, and this program provides affected businesses with the critical assistance needed for revitalization and recovery, Pat Forbes, OCD executive director, said. I encourage all eligible businesses to take advantage of the programs resources and apply for assistance.

The program application deadline is Sunday, Dec. 31. To apply for assistance, small businesses should contact the lender servicing their region. Additional information on participating lenders and the areas they service, along with program guidelines, is available at restore.la.gov/SBLP.

To qualify for a loan, businesses and non-profits must meet the following criteria:

·         Employ 1-50 full-time staff (35 hours or more per week);

·         Be open and operating at the time of the disaster event;

·         Have a minimum $25,000 in annual gross revenues before the disaster event;

·         Be located in one of the eligible parishes;

·         Have experienced financial or physical loss from a 2020-2021 disaster event; and

·         Have an eligible unmet need after subtracting duplication of benefits (see program guidelines)

The state is partnered with four primary lenders to implement and administer the loan program throughout LouisianaSouth Central Planning and Development Commission; Regional Loan Corporation; NewCorp Inc.; and North Delta Regional Planning and Development District.

For technical assistance with the application, contact the Louisiana Chamber of Commerce Foundation at 504.913.7952 or via email at programs@labizspeaks.org.

The state has allocated $96.1 million through the Small Business Loan Program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In total, HUD has allocated more than $3 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds to Louisiana for long-term recovery efforts in response to Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Ida and the May 2021 Severe Storms.

Information on all Restore Louisiana recovery programs can be found at restore.la.gov.