SBA opens disaster loans for Kentucky non-profits after major declaration

The U.S. Small Business Administration has published notice of a presidential major disaster declaration for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, opening federal disaster loans to private non-profit organizations that provide essential services of a governmental nature. The notice appears in the Federal Register of September 24, 2026 (Vol. 91, No. 184, p. 60676) under Disaster Declaration #21902 and #21903 and Kentucky Disaster Number KY–20039. It follows the President’s declaration dated September 1, 2026, identified as FEMA–4937–DR.

The SBA issues these notices under 13 CFR 123.3(b) to make its disaster loan programs available once a presidential declaration is signed. This one is a “Public Assistance Only” declaration, so eligibility is limited to private non-profit organizations rather than to households or for-profit businesses generally. The triggering event was a sequence of severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides that struck the state between June 26 and June 30, 2026, the incident period recorded in the notice.

Affected areas

The notice lists the areas determined to be adversely affected by the disaster:

• Primary counties: Bullitt, Butler, Clinton, Cumberland, Garrard, Grayson, Green, Hardin, Henderson, Jackson, Jessamine, Madison, Meade, Mercer, Metcalfe, Ohio, Owsley, Rockcastle, Spencer and Wayne.

Deadlines and how to apply

Applications may be filed online through the MySBA Loan Portal at lending.sba.gov, or in person at other locally announced locations.

• Physical loan application deadline: November 1, 2026.
• Economic Injury (EIDL) loan application deadline: June 1, 2027.
• Further information: Shaquille Lewis, Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street SW, Suite 6050, Washington, DC 20416, (202) 205–6734.
• Customer service: disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or 1–800–659–2955; dial 7–1–1 for telecommunications relay services.

Rates and official identifiers

The interest rate set out in the notice is 3.625 percent for private non-profit organizations, applied both to physical damage and to economic injury. The disaster carries the number 21902B for physical damage and 21903O for economic injury, and is listed under Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 59008. The notice is signed by James Stallings, Associate Administrator, Office of Disaster Recovery & Resilience.

The publication matters because it is the formal trigger that makes federal loan money reachable for the non-profit organizations that deliver government-type services in the twenty listed counties. Organizations that miss the November 1, 2026 physical damage deadline, or the June 1, 2027 economic injury deadline, lose access to the program for this declaration, so the notice functions as the operative calendar for recovery financing in the affected Kentucky communities.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 184, September 24, 2026, Notices, p. 60676 (official reference: FR Doc. 2026–19601).