July 22, 2021
Dear Arts Action Fund Members,
Here’s a roundup of the latest updates on the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Shuttered Venue Operator Grants (SVOG) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Forgiveness. I’m also sharing federal updates on the latest Infrastructure bill and White House COVID-19 action plan. Please join me tomorrow at 11:00am ET, as I resume my weekly Zoom Office Hours to answer your questions and allow you to share your experiences with colleagues across the country.
SVOG PROGRAM REPORTS AND DATA
SBA’s latest program report was released on September 7th, showing 11,774 first round Shuttered Venue Operator Grants (SVOG) awarded, amounting to $9.5 billion. SBA has assured stakeholders that there will be sufficient funds to cover the upcoming supplemental grants as well, which will begin to be administered next week. Below is a snapshot of the SBA’s weekly program report as 9/7/21.
Supplemental grants will be awarded to those applicants who suffered at least a 70% Gross Earned Revenue loss into 2021, by comparing 2021 first quarter financials with your 2019 first quarter. Look for an actionable item in your SVOG application portal asking you to update your Q1 or Q2 financials for 2021. SBA originally requested this information as an optional update, but it has now made the request a mandatory update to trigger an invite to a Supplemental grant. The Supplemental grant will be 50% of your first-round grant amount (prior to the reduction of any 2021 PPP loan, but it cannot to exceed $10 million in total SVOG award funds.) Responding to the Supplemental invite will also give applicants the opportunity to extend the deadline to use all SVOG funds (first round and supplemental) for an additional six months to 6/30/22, instead of 12/31/21.
Also available to the public is the SBA’s weekly data list of the names of SVOG grantees, award amounts, and locations. Here’s a snapshot of the number of awards by venue type as of 9/7/21.
PPP FORGIVENESS PROGRAM UPDATE
As a reminder, don’t forget to submit your PPP Forgiveness Form to your bank lender within 10 months from the end of your covered period (8 to 24 weeks after receiving the loan) in order to turn that debt into a forgiven, tax-free grant. For those of you who received a PPP loan of $150,000 or less, you may also have the option to use the SBA’s direct forgiveness portal, instead of going through your lender. Tomorrow during my Zoom Office Hours, I will have a guest speaker David Patti with Customers Bank, one of the largest PPP lenders in the country, talk to us about the in’s and out’s of submitting a forgiveness form.
List of about 1275 participating financial institutions
PPP Direct Forgiveness Platform User Guide
SBA PPP Direct Forgiveness FAQs
SBA PPP General Forgiveness FAQs and Forms
SBA PPP Forgiveness Customer Service: 877-552-2692
FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
You’ve likely all read the headlines about a fast-moving $3.5 trillion infrastructure and jobs bill being worked on in Congress. I’m pleased to report that freshman Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) was successfully able to add an amendment to the Education and Workforce component portion of the infrastructure bill that would add “arts and entertainment” among a list of industries that are identified in the bill as eligible for $10 billion in industry partnership grants through the Department of Labor. Congresswoman Leger Fernandez is the cosponsor of the “Creative Economy Revitalization Act” and the “Federal Writers’ Project Act” with Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA). This is a significant step forward that will also need to be matched in the Senate version of the bill. Stay tuned for next steps.
WHITE HOUSE UPDATE
President Biden released today his COVID-19 Action Plan “Path Out of the Pandemic.” The plan outlines both mandatory and recommended vaccinations, testing, and ways of conducting business. Included is a specific recommendation for “large entertainment venues.” The President’s plan calls on entertainment venues like sports arenas, large concert halls, and other venues where large groups of people gather to require that their patrons be vaccinated or show a negative test for entry.
ZOOM OFFICE HOURS TOMORROW @ 11:00am ET
If you have federal COVID-19 relief questions, please join me at my weekly Zoom Office Hours tomorrow on Friday, September 10th @ 11:00 am ET, where we will have guest speaker, David Patti with Customers Bank join us at noontime ET.
To read an archive of Arts Action Fund federal updates and more, visit COVID-19 Arts Resources Page.
