UPDATE: Small Business Administration Targets Early April for Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Launch
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has set April 8 as the date it will begin accepting applications for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program.
The American Rescue Plan Act amended the SVOG program so entities that apply for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan after Dec. 27, 2020 can also apply for an SVOG, with the eligible entity’s SVOG to be reduced by the PPP loan amount. The SBA recently released a 26-page interim final rule (IFR) codifying those changes with additional details.
The SBA encourages venue operators and other entities interested in applying for an SVOG to sign up to receive email updates about the application launch via the SBA’s webpage for the SVOG. The SBA also recommends that potential applicants register at SAM.gov for the federal government’s System for Award Management (SAM), as applicants must have a SAM registration to receive an SVOG.
The SVOG program was authorized when the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, P.L. 116-260, was signed into law in late December. The Economic Aid Act funded the program with $15 billion to provide eligible applicants grants equal to 45 percent of their gross earned revenue, up to a maximum of $10 million. The American Rescue Plan Act includes an additional $1.25 billion in funding for the SVOG program.
Entities eligible to apply for an SVOG include live venue operators or promoters, theatrical producers, live performing arts organization operators, museum operators, motion picture theater operators and talent representatives.
The SBA issued an updated preliminary checklist of documents SVOG applicants may be required to submit. The checklist clarifies that eligible applicants that do not have an audited financial statement for 2019 are not required to provide one and do not have to comply with the requirement for a single audit unless they expended $750,000 or more in federal funds during 2019. The checklist was first issued March 5, along with an updated list of frequently asked questions and a table summarizing SVOG eligibility requirements.
For more information, visit tscpa.com/covid19.