The agency, which oversees the now $ 7.2 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, announced Friday that it will begin sending out invitations to its newly created complementary grant program. SBA says additional awards will be released in “two weeks”.
The first iteration of the SVOG began on April 26, handing out $ 9 billion to 11,500 venues. No new applications will be accepted on August 20th.
The additional award is only available to qualified small businesses, nonprofits, and venues that have received grants. Many of these venues, including music clubs, theaters, and museums, are believed to still need help – and it’s not a moment too soon as the highly contagious Delta variant poses an ongoing threat.
“These additional grants will go to the hardest-hit Shuttered Venue Operators Grant winners to ensure they can get back on their feet and get back to business driving our nation’s economy,” said Matthew Stevens, SVOG program director SBA, in a statement.
The agency said it will offer additional grants equal to 50 percent of the initial allotment amount, capped at $ 10 million for the combined initial and supplementary grants. In addition, only institutions that have received an initial grant are eligible, which may show a 70 percent loss in sales in the first quarter compared to the same quarter of 2019.
The first program allowed eligible applicants to apply for grants equal to 45 percent of their gross earnings up to a maximum of $ 10 million. SBA defines “earned income” or “gross income earned” as money derived from the sale of goods or services rather than from, for example, donations or sponsorship income.
As an added incentive, the agency is extending the period during which institutions must spend their grants on eligible expenses such as payroll and rent. Companies and non-profit organizations that receive an SVOG can now spend their grant proceeds on eligible expenses until June 30, 2022; They can also extend their budget period to 18 months from the date the first grant is paid out. These institutions previously had a period of 12 months after receiving the scholarship.
Should the funding run out quickly, the SBA claims that it will prioritize the applicants with the greatest loss of income, respecting the priority periods of the first version of the program. In this case, for 14 days after the SBA began awarding contracts, the agency preferred applications from companies with a revenue loss of at least 90 percent between April and December 2020. Another 14-day priority window followed for companies with revenue losses of 70 percent or more over the same period. The SVOG then opened up to those who had suffered a drop in earned income of at least 25 percent.
Despite the good news for venues seeking a second bath, it is unclear what will happen to applicants who are currently appealing their SVOG decisions or the amounts provided. In an earlier announcement, the SBA announced that it would reconsider amounts and appeals only on an invitation-only basis. The agency did not provide any updates on this review process.
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