SBA Offers Relief to Nebraska Small Businesses & Private Nonprofits Affected by Drought
RELEASE DATE: May 05, 2026
Media Contact: Corey.Williams@sba.gov
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the availability of low interest federal disaster loans to small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Nebraska to offset economic losses caused by drought beginning April 1.
The declaration covers the Nebraska counties of Adams, Antelope, Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Boone, Box Butte, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Butler, Cedar, Chase, Cherry, Cheyenne, Clay, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dakota, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dixon, Dodge, Dundy, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Garden, Garfield, Gosper, Grant, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Holt, Hooker, Howard, Kearney, Keith, Keya Paha, Kimball, Knox, Lancaster, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, Madison, McPherson, Merrick, Morrill, Nance, Nuckolls, Perkins, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Red Willow, Rock, Saline, Saunders, Scotts Bluff, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Stanton, Thomas, Thurston, Valley, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, and York, as well as the Colorado counties of Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Weld, and Yuma, and the Kansas counties of Cheyenne, Decatur, Norton, and Rawlins, and the South Dakota counties of Bennett, Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Clay, Fall River, Gregory, Oglala Lakota, Todd, Tripp, Union, and Yankton, and the Wyoming counties of Goshen, Laramie, and Niobrara.
Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs — 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 small aquaculture enterprises.
EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the small business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills which could not be paid due to the disaster.
“Through a declaration by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, SBA provides critical financial assistance to help communities recover,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “We’re pleased to offer loans to small businesses and private nonprofits impacted by these disasters.”
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.625% for PNPs with terms of up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months after the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.
To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
Submit completed loan applications to SBA no later than December 15.
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