- U.S. Small Business Administration announces that it will begin sending invitations for supplemental awards in its Shuttered Venue Grant Operators program
- Funding requests came in below the program’s $16.2 billion in funding, allowing the SBA to give additional awards to the hardest-hit venues
- SVOG offers funding to several arts and cultural entities, including live venues, movie theaters, performing arts organizations, talent representatives, and museums
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced that it will begin sending invitations to those who received funding through the Shuttered Venue Grant Operators program as part of its effort to distribute supplemental awards to the hardest-hit entities.
The program was funded with $16.2 billion through two pieces of federal COVID-19 relief legislation, but requests have come in below this level. The SBA says about $9 billion has been awarded to more than 11,500 arts and cultural entities, including live venues, movie theaters, performing arts organizations, talent representatives, and museums.
The SBA announced earlier this month that the SVOG program would be closing to new applicants and that supplemental awards would be given out to existing recipients. The additional round of awards will be concentrated on those who can show a revenue loss of at least 70 percent between the first quarter of 2019 and the same period in 2021.
- Supplemental awards can be up to 50 percent of the original grant
- The initial award and supplemental one taken together cannot exceed $10 million
- Entities receiving a supplemental award will also be able to extend their time period to use the grant funds for expenses accrued through June 30, 2022, and to lengthen their budget period to 18 months from the initial grant’s disbursement date
