Nearly 12,000 Businesses Got $10 Billion in Shuttered Venue Grant Money

The Small Business Administration (SBA) just announced 12,000 businesses have received $10 billion in supplemental awards through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program. As theaters, live venues, and other entertainment and cultural hubs begin to recover from the pandemic, this grant is an invaluable lifeline for these businesses.

$10 Billion in Shuttered Venue Business Grants Awarded

Since the SVOG program started, more than 90% of the grants went to venues with less than 50 employees. The SBA Administrator, Isabella Casillas Guzman, said by reaching businesses with this number of employees, “… we’re reaching our smallest businesses, who suffered disproportionate impacts from the pandemic and were often left out of early rounds of relief.”

The SBA announced the supplemental grant for SVOG recipients was going to be available to those businesses showing a 70% loss when comparing 2021’s first-quarter revenues to the same in 2019. And these businesses could apply for any amount up to 50% of the original SVOG amount with a $10 million cap of the initial and supplemental awards combined.

As far as using the supplemental funds, you can use them for expenses you accumulate through June 30, 2022. Moreover, it allows you to lengthen your budget period to 18 months from the time you get the grant.

The supplemental award period is open, and the SBA is still sending supplemental invitations to eligible SVOG awardees. So, if you qualify make sure to apply on the SVOG page and you can get weekly SVOG funding data reports by going to www.sba.gov/svog.

If you are looking for more information about the additional  Economic Relief programs from the SBA you can visit COVID-19 relief options.  Additionally, the SBA also has partners to help small businesses in the application process for any available grant or funding. Some of these partners include SCORE Mentors, Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers.

You can find these partners in your local area by using the zip code search at http://www.sba.gov/local-assistance.

The SVOG Program

More than $16.2 billion was appropriated for grants through the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act. The program set aside $2 billion for eligible SVOG applications with 50 full-time employees or less. Applicants that were eligible could qualify for grants equaling 45% of their gross earned revenue. This is for a maximum amount of $10 million for a single grant.

Notice: SVOG is no longer accepting new applications.

Image: Depositphotos

This article, "Nearly 12,000 Businesses Got $10 Billion in Shuttered Venue Grant Money" was first published on Small Business Trends