Small business owners affected by red tide in Sarasota and Manatee counties can now qualify for a bridge loan of up to $50,000 from the state, money that could mean the difference in keeping doors open at some establishments.

“In overcoming disaster events, each day that passes, the likelihood of businesses closing goes up and up,” says Michael Myhre, CEO of the Florida Small Business Development Center. But federal funding for businesses often won’t come for weeks or months after an event like to recent red tide blooms in the Gulf of Mexico.

That’s why the state opened its Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program up to counties recently impacted by algal blooms. 

Businesses in counties impacted by blue-green algae coming into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers thanks to water discharged from Lake Okeechobee became eligible for such loans on July 9. But as those blooms released nutrients into estuaries and the Gulf, feeding more explosive blooms, Gov. Rick Scott also declared a state of emergency in seven counties impacted by red tide, including Sarasota and Manatee.

Ann Frescura, executive director of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, says the red tide blooms have hit businesses on the islands at a time of year when traffic already slows to a trickle. “Traffic on the beach is reduced, and that in turn affects all of the shops, restaurants and bars,” she said. Hotels have reported cancellations as well. “It’s affecting everyone in our community,” Frescura says.

To get bridge loans, Myrhe says businesses must demonstrate an impact on their vitality cause, whether that’s physical damage to their business or economic damage demonstrated whether through year-over-year financials, reservation losses or other documentable means. The program is open to companies with more than two but fewer than 100 employees.

It’s the same program that helped many companies here last year in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Frescura notes the loan programs are interest-free—an incentive to use them. But officials also reminded people to remember this is a loan, not a grant.

In the meantime, Frescura says island businesses have also worked hard to educate consumers and visitors that there’s still reason to visit Siesta Key and other area destinations. Live camera stream images online let people know the state of beaches at any point. “We’re trying to remain positive and pull together,” she says.