Small businesses and nonprofits in Grayson County that have lost money because of this fall's drought can now apply for low-interest federal disaster loans, under a declaration the U.S. Small Business Administration issued last week.
Grayson is one of 11 Texas counties named as primary disaster counties in the declaration, numbered TX-20092. The SBA paperwork dates the drought to Sept. 8, 2026, and lists it as continuing. The other primary counties are Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, Upton and Wise.
Businesses in neighboring counties can also apply, including Fannin, Hunt, Rockwall and Kaufman in Texas and Bryan, Love, Marshall and Jefferson across the Red River in Oklahoma.
What the loans cover
The program offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans, which are working capital loans rather than repair money. According to an SBA fact sheet dated Oct. 29, they are meant to help an organization pay ordinary bills it can no longer cover because of the drought.
Key terms, per the SBA:
- Up to $2 million per applicant, limited to the economic injury the agency determines
- Fixed rates of 3.625% for private nonprofits and 4% for small businesses
- Repayment stretched over as long as 30 years
- A first year after disbursement with no payments due and no interest building up
Small businesses, private nonprofits including faith-based groups, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries and small aquaculture businesses can apply. By law, the SBA cannot lend to farmers and ranchers, the agency's fact sheet says. Borrowers need a credit history the agency accepts and must show they can repay, and the loans may not pay off existing long-term debt.
A separate program for farms
The SBA loans follow a drought designation by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, approved Oct. 20, according to an SBA memo dated Oct. 28. Under that designation the USDA's Farm Service Agency handles emergency loans for agricultural producers, while the SBA covers other businesses hurt by the same drought.
