The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) opened a Disaster Loan Outreach Center at the Globe-Miami Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday to help residents, businesses, and nonprofits apply for low-interest federal disaster loans following the late September floods.
This center was established after the SBA issued a disaster declaration last Friday, announcing the availability of low-interest federal loans to those affected by flooding in Gila County between September 25 and 27.
Despite the ongoing government shutdown, SBA officials say disaster services remain fully operational, and the entity will continue processing disaster loan applications and disbursing approved funding.
The new outreach center, located inside the Globe-Miami Chamber of Commerce, is staffed by six SBA customer service representatives—including Spanish speakers—ready to answer questions and guide applicants through the loan process.
“You can absolutely do it online, but there’s nothing like having hands-on help,” said Christian Lewis, SBA Public Affairs Specialist with the Office of Disaster Recovery. “We try to have a physical presence in the communities.”
Lewis, a former SBA loan officer, has been meeting with the community to spread the word about the program.
The SBA offers:
Capital loans for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations, including faith-based organizations, impacted by financial losses directly related to this disaster.
Interest rates start as low as three percent, with terms up to 30 years and a 12-month grace period before payments and interest begin.
Eligibility is based on credit, debt-to-income ratio, and repayment ability, but the SBA also takes into account an applicant’s financial situation before and after the disaster.
“We would look at someone's credit and say, okay, prior to this event, you've been paying everything on time, whether there was balance on credit cards or anything like that. Once this event happens, we can literally see that your savings went down, your checking went down, your credit card usage went up, which means the only reason that you're not on track the way you were was because of this disaster,” Lewis explains. “In those scenarios, we would still approve people, because the only thing that's stopping them is the disaster.”
"We are not in the business of trying to find reasons not to approve people," he adds. "We are here as much as possible to help."
Lewis encourages anyone even considering a disaster loan to submit an application, even if they aren’t sure they’ll want the loan or think they might not be approved. Applicants can only be considered if they meet the application deadline.
“Because you are under no obligation to take the funds, a lot of times people just apply to see where they are,” he explains. “They may be approved and they still hold off on accepting funds because they say, ‘I want to see what my insurance company is going to do for me. I want to see if I can get grants because of all these different resources that are pouring into the community.’”
Applications that are denied, due to poor credit pre-disaster or other issues, receive a decline letter explaining why. The SBA then connects applicants with local partners such as the Small Business Development Center, which offers programs to help individuals boost their credit.
Once an application is submitted, it stays active in the system for six months, and applicants may file up to two appeals for reconsideration if their finances or other circumstances change.
The application itself is straightforward, Lewis says, taking maybe between five to 15 minutes to complete. Applicants will need to provide information such as:
After submitting, the system will request supporting documents via text and email. The faster these documents are provided, the faster the loan can be processed.
“I have seen people come into centers and do everything and be very responsive and be completely funded in eight days,” he says. “And I've seen people come to the same centers and it takes them three and a half months.”
Once approved, applicants are notified through their online portal, he says, and funds are typically disbursed within six months of the first payment.
“People click a button and it's literally like a Zelle,” he says. ”The moment you click the button, you get your first dispersal.”
DEADLINE for physical damage applications: Dec. 9, 2025
DEADLINE for economic injury applications: July 10, 2026
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