November 10, 2021
Dear Arts Action Fund Member,
SHUTTERED VENUE OPERATORS GRANTS (SVOG) UPDATE
The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today that it is sending out invitations beginning today to all SVOG awardees to participate in upcoming informational sessions that will be divided by entity type. If you have any questions about your award amount, Reconsideration 2.0, or allowable expenses, please make time to participate in one of these meetings:
- Museum Operators – Friday, November 12, 2021 @ 1pm ET
- Theatrical Producers – Friday, November 12, 2021 @ 3pm ET
- Talent Representatives – Monday, November 15, 2021 @ 1pm ET
- Motion Picture Theater Operators – Monday, Nov. 15, 2021 @ 3pm ET
- Live Performing Arts Org. Operators – Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021 @ 1pm ET
- Live Venue Operators or Promoters – Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021 @ 3pm ET
SVOG SUPPLEMENTAL UPDATE
Approximately 7,500 initial grant awardees were eligible for a second “Supplemental” award based on demonstrating at least 70% earned revenue loss comparing 1st or 2nd quarter 2021 with the same quarters in 2019. So far, the SBA has issued 6,204award notifications and will finish notifying the remaining 1,300 supplemental awardees by Wednesday, November 17, 2021.
Note: If you believe that you qualify for a supplemental award and have not received your supplemental offer by Nov. 17th, then please send an email the very next day explaining your situation to [email protected] with the subject line “Attn: SVOG High Level Review Team.” Please CC me at A[email protected] so I can follow up with the SBA.
If the SBA has issued you a notification of a supplemental award, but it has not been disbursed yet to your business checking account, please be patient a little bit longer. Of the $2.2 billion that the SBA has already obligated (awarded on paper) in supplemental funds, less than 50% ($1 billion) has been disbursed so far.
When you receive your Form 1222 Notice of Award and Addendum to sign, please be sure to make a PDF of all four pages to return back to the SBA, even if it looks like some of the pages are irrelevant.
RECONSIDERATION 2.0 BEGINS ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH
SBA will e-mail invitations for Reconsideration 2.0 beginning November 17, 2021 to all SVOG applicants on a rolling basis as applicants complete the full awards process. An actionable item will also be made available in your SVOG application portal. Reconsideration 2.0 is an opportunity for SVOG grantees, who made mistakes on their initial application that could have decreased their award amount, to correct those mistakes and possibly receive a larger award. Please be on the lookout for your invitation for Reconsideration 2.0, as the window to opt-in will remain open for only 21 days. Note this period includes the Thanksgiving Day holiday, so the SBA has extended the traditional two-week window to 21 days. Please plan accordingly. Once this initial 21-day window closes, the SBA cannot offer you another opportunity to have your documentation reconsidered. This is your final opportunity to provide updated documentation. For more information on Reconsideration 2.0, please review SVOG Post-Application FAQs.
UPDATE ON SVOG APPEALS
Of the 3,115 applicants who appealed the SBA’s decision to decline their initial application, 445 have successfully won their appeals. 2,108 applicants’ appeal requests were reviewed and declined again, leaving 562 appeal applications still under review.
UPDATE ON INITIAL AWARD AMOUNT RECONSIDERATIONS
Of the 844 applicants who requested that the SBA review again the initial grant amount awarded, 601 of these reconsiderations have been approved with higher award amounts and 220 were declined. Only 23 applications remain under review for reconsideration and this usually has more to do with delays in tax return confirmations.
SBA’S SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS (SBDC) AVAILABLE TO HELP SVOG AWARDEES CLOSE-OUT & ANSWER QUESTIONS
I encourage all SVOG awardees to take advantage of any technical assistance that you can get from your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC). These are authorized agencies of the SBA who have been or will be trained to help awardees close out their grants and answer questions. Find an SBDC near you here.
SVOG PROGRAM REPORT AS OF 11/8/21
(link to full report here)
UPDATE ON QUARTERLY EMPLOYEE RETENTION TAX CREDIT (ERTC)
The recently passed federal Infrastructure Bill cancelled the 2021 4th quarter Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), but quarters 1, 2, and 3 remain intact. There is a chance that the 4th quarter ERTC could be restored in one of the upcoming pieces of federal legislation, such as Build Back Better or the Federal Budget Reconciliation bill. Stay tuned.
MY WEEKLY ZOOM OFFICE HOURS ARE ON FRIDAYS @ 11:00am ET
If you have federal COVID-19 relief questions, please find the link and join me at my weekly Zoom Office Hours this Friday, November 12th @ 11:00 am ET.