March 2 deadline for small business Harvey losses

Time is running out for Navasota small-business owners to apply for Hurricane Harvey relief funds through We’re Texas Back in Business, the $100 million Hurricane Harvey relief program for Texas’ small business! Small-business owners have through March 2, 2020, to apply for grants that range from $50,000-$250,000 and may do so online at TexasBackInBusiness.com.

Navasota City Manager Brad Stafford said, “All small businesses that were negatively impacted by Hurricane Harvey are encouraged to apply. Impacts may be loss of sales or productivity due to flooding, inability to make loan payments due to low sales volume and numerous other impacts caused by the storm.”

What is Texas Back in Business?

The grant program called ‘Texas Back in Business,’ was funded by Congress through the Department of Housing and Urban Development and is authorized by the Texas General Land Office.

Texas Back in Business emphasizes that it is a relief program for small business - not a bank, not affiliated with the Small Business Administration (SBA) - but created strictly to help Texas small businesses affected by Hurricane Harvey get on the road to recovery.

Who’s eligible?

Four questions that will assist in determining eligibility are: (1) Were you in business Aug. 25, 2017 when Hurricane Harvey hit Texas? (2) Did your business suffer losses due to Hurricane Harvey? (3) Are you a small business as defined by the SBA? (4) Is your business located in one of the 49-counties impacted by Hurricane Harvey?

No repayment required

According to the grant program guidelines, the amount of grant funding will be determined by remaining need, job creation or retention, especially for low-to-moderate-income individuals. The applications will be chosen at random for an eligibility and underwriting review after the application period ends.

Under the Texas Back in Business grant program, if a small business is awarded funds and fulfills the requirements of the grant, no repayment is required.

Application process

Information that small-business owners will need to complete the online application includes contact information, type of business, location, number of employees, an explanation of how damaged – whether economically or physically, a description of how the grant funds will assist the business and what other types of relief may have been applied for, or received.

The application will be reviewed, and once initial eligibility has been determined, applicants will be notified. Additional grant details are available at TexasBackInBusiness.com, or at 1001 W. Loop South, Suite 600, Houston, Texas, 77027 or by calling 1-844-77-FLOOD.