Program Expires Sept. 30; Impacted Small Businesses Urged to Apply Now

Editor’s note: If you know of a small business that has been impacted by the oil spill and would benefit from an emergency bridge loan to meet immediate financial obligations, please share the following information with them or have them visit www.floridaoilhelp.com.

If your small business has lost income due to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and is awaiting action on a long-term economic recovery claim, you are eligible for expedited, short-term financial help through the State of Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program. The program is administered by Florida First Capital on behalf of the state.

The emergency short-term loans (with terms up to 12 months) help bridge the critical gap between when a small business makes application for and secures other permanent financial recovery resources, including payment of Gulf Coast Claims Facility claims, federal disaster assistance or insurance claim proceeds. In short, bridge loans provide expedited financial relief to meet immediate obligations in order to help keep a business operating.

Under the program, small business owners (from 2 to 100 employees) are eligible for up to $25,000 in interest-free financial help, available in most cases between 48 and 72 hours of submitting a completed application.

Governor Charlie Crist has allocated $5 million from General Revenue to fund the emergency bridge loan program, which expires Sept. 30.

Counties currently approved for the emergency bridge loan program are: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Monroe, Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

To be eligible, a business owner must have been operational for one full year prior to the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on April 20, 2010, and demonstrate physical damage or economic injury as a result of the oil spill.

Applications (available in both English and Spanish) may be downloaded by visiting www.floridaoilhelp.com. Once completed, applicants should contact the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network at 866.737.7232 for submission instructions. Applicants may also contact the SBDC Network for free help with completing the application.

The Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program was first activated in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. Since then, the program has minimized the economic impacts of the Winter Storm of 1993, the Northwest Florida Floods of 1994, Hurricanes Opal, Georges, Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne, Dennis and Wilma, and the Central Florida Tornados of 2007.

Florida First Capital has administered the program on behalf of the state for every disaster except Georges and Wilma. In doing so, FFCFC has assisted more than 950 small businesses in 56 counties to promptly receive more than $26 million in state disaster bridge loans.