New Fund Aims to Save Small Businesses Before Disaster Aid Arrives

SAN ANTONIO, TX – May 26, 2026 – As the frequency and cost of natural disasters in the United States continue to climb, a national nonprofit is launching a new initiative to combat one of the most persistent failures in community recovery: the inability to get money to small businesses fast enough for them to survive.

LiftFund, a San Antonio-based community funder, has announced the launch of its National Small Business Disaster & Resilience Fund. The initiative is designed to function as a standing recovery infrastructure, ready to inject immediate capital into local economies within days of a disaster, a stark contrast to the weeks or months it often takes for traditional aid to materialize.

From payroll and rent to supplier payments and utility bills, the financial pressures on a small business are immediate and relentless after a disaster. The new fund aims to bridge this critical gap, providing stabilization grants and emergency loans before temporary disruption becomes permanent closure.

"Small business recovery is community recovery," said Amy Hereford, President and CEO of LiftFund, in a statement. "When businesses close after a disaster, communities lose jobs, local services, economic stability, and part of their identity. The goal of this fund is to build recovery systems that move before irreversible damage occurs."

The Critical Capital Gap

The challenge LiftFund seeks to address is a well-documented flaw in the nation's disaster response framework. While federal programs like those from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) are cornerstones of long-term recovery, they are not built for speed. The process often involves a formal disaster declaration, lengthy applications, and underwriting for loans that many hard-hit businesses may not qualify for or be able to repay.

Research shows that this delay is often fatal. Without financial support in the first two weeks following a disaster, up to 40% of small businesses may be forced to close their doors for good. Even business interruption insurance can be a slow and uncertain process, with many policies containing exclusions for events like flooding.

This gap leaves entrepreneurs in a perilous position, forced to make irreversible decisions about laying off staff or abandoning leases long before federal aid becomes a possibility. LiftFund’s model is designed specifically to fill this void, acting as a financial first responder that complements, rather than replaces, the larger government systems.

A Proven Model in a Devastated Community

The framework for the new national fund was battle-tested in the aftermath of one of Texas’s most devastating recent disasters. In July 2025, catastrophic flooding tore through Kerrville and the surrounding Texas Hill Country, causing an estimated $18 billion to $22 billion in damage and economic loss. The floods wiped out homes, infrastructure, and the region's vital tourism industry.

In the wake of the disaster, LiftFund, in partnership with organizations like the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, mobilized a rapid response. They have since distributed $14 million through more than 500 grants and zero-interest loans to affected Kerr County-area businesses. This infusion of capital was instrumental for many local entrepreneurs.

"Many Kerr County businesses were able to retain employees and reopen sooner because emergency funding arrived quickly in this case," Hereford explained. The success in Kerrville demonstrated the power of a model built around the immediate realities small businesses face, providing a lifeline when it was needed most.

The effort was supported by a broad coalition, including a significant $10 million grant approved by the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country in January 2026 to sustain LiftFund's small business recovery program in the area.

Building a National Recovery Infrastructure

The National Small Business Disaster & Resilience Fund aims to scale the lessons from Kerrville and LiftFund's 30 years of experience into a nationally deployable model. Over the past three decades, the organization has distributed more than $230 million across more than 50 disaster recovery efforts, helping to support approximately 50,000 jobs from Houston to Los Angeles.

The new fund will operate as a permanent, ready-to-activate resource. By establishing partnerships and pre-positioning capital, the initiative intends to deliver stabilization grants and emergency financing within days of a disaster. This initial support is designed to cover immediate needs while business owners navigate insurance claims and apply for longer-term SBA loans.

The initiative was formally introduced on May 13 during The Business of Rebuilding, a convening in Kerrville that brought together leaders from banking, government, and philanthropy, including experts from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas who presented research on small business resilience.

Support for such innovative, faster systems is growing. "Texas has an opportunity to lead the nation in how we support small businesses after disaster," said State Representative Wes Virdell. "Recovery depends on more than rebuilding roads and infrastructure. It depends on whether local businesses can reopen, workers can stay employed, and communities can remain economically stable. That requires systems prepared to move at the speed recovery demands."

LiftFund leaders emphasize that the ultimate goal is to create a more resilient economic landscape, one where communities can recover faster, preserve their commercial corridors, and mitigate the long-term ripple effects that disasters have on jobs, housing, and regional stability. As Hereford stated, the path forward is clear. "We already know what works. Now we must build systems capable of moving at the speed recovery demands."