Dear APAP Members and Colleagues,

As we close out this week, we want to keep you updated on the latest SBA news on the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, including providing the latest SVOG numbers, which are at the end of this email.

Thank you to the many of you who have shared information in our APAP Member SVOG Survey, so that we can better advocate for your needs as we continue to meet daily with the SBA. If you haven't already, please take the survey or update your status now.

BREAKING: The SBA has just announced the following:

STARTING NEXT WEEK: OFFICE HOURS: Today the SBA announced in our briefing that it will begin "Office Hours" next week.

  • Office Hours will be held from 2:00-4:00 p.m. (EDT) daily as a "Teams Live Event". This moderated event will begin with demos of common issues in an effort to help applicants and awardees move forward in their process.

  • The event will also include time for Q&A, using questions submitted by applicants. The SBA will determine which questions are appropriate to share in a public setting. All other questions will be responded to and "actioned" by the SBA, so no question will go unanswered.

  • Monday's session will be devoted to Priority 1 active applicants (applicants who have not yet gotten an award or decline notification). Tuesday's session will be devoted to Priority 2 active applicants. Wednesday's session will be devoted to Priority 3 active applicants. Thursday and Friday will be open to all applicants.

  • You will receive an email shortly from the SBA outlining the details of Office Hours, as well as how to submit questions.

UPDATED FAQS: The SBA has released updated FAQs, providing important revisions and corrections since the last set of FAQs were released in April. We've created this comparison report to highlight the changes to this document. While we encourage you to review the FAQs in full, a few notable items include:

  • Under "Eligibility": Clarifications on eligibility for theatrical producers (Q55) and talent agents (Q56) and nuances around the requirement for 60-day advance ticket sales or 70% of revenue derived from performing arts events (Q67) and talent representative documentation (Q74).
  • Under "Use of Funds": The clarification of allowable use of funds for alcohol sales (Q173), if they are an "ordinary and necessary business expense" and "one that is common and accepted in your trade or business".
  • Under "Subsidiaries and Affiliates": Written confirmation that "two affiliated eligible entities [can] both use the employer identification number of their parent to apply for their own SVOG". (Q218)
  • NEW FAQs on Appeals, Award Reconsiderations and Supplemental Funding on pages 36-39.

A TIMELINE FOR DECLINE APPEALS, AWARD RECONSIDERATIONS, AND SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING: In today's briefing, the SBA shared the timeline for these next phases. For each process, eligible applicants will receive advance notice.

  • Decline Appeals: Process will begin August 2 and run for two weeks.
  • Award Reconsiderations: Process will begin August 4 and run for two weeks.
  • Supplemental Funding: Process will being the week of August 23.

The SBA also noted that it plans to close the portal to new applicants soon.

THE NUMBERS:

As of earlier today, 14,712 applications have been "decisioned" of which 11,712 applicants have been notified of their status.

  • Of the 14,712 "decisioned", 9,504 applicants have been notified of their awards, and 1,273 are queued for award notification. Those queued are primarily applicants who have a 4506-T issue, a budget adjustment request, a SAM.gov registration issue, a Notice of Award/documentation issue, or have just moved from technical correction to award.

  • Thus far, award notifications represent $7.2 billion of which $5.8 billion has been disbursed.

  • 2,208 applications have been declined, and 206 are queued for decline.

  • 1,521 have been sent requests for technical correction, and the technical corrections queue has been cleared.
If you have a question for the SBA, you can send it to [email protected]. Currently, given the volume of email, it may take 72 hours or more for the SBA to respond.

Do you have a specific SVOG application issue you'd like us to submit to the SBA on your behalf? If so, please submit your case (along with your grant #, if applicable) to Jenny Thomas, APAP Director of Marketing and Communications, at [email protected].

APAP continues to advocate on your behalf. We are stronger together.

Sincerely,
The APAP Team