Writer: Émilie Gille
The UGA Public Service and Outreach will host a webinar this Thursday to help owners and operators of entertainment venues apply for federal funding available through the Economic Aid Act.
The Shuttered Venue Operators grant program provides financial support for live music and other performing arts venues, arts promoters, movie theaters, and museums that meet specific criteria.
Funding, signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020, includes $15 billion in grants for these businesses, which in some cases may be nonprofits or government-owned.
“There are a number of eligible groups, but there are restrictions as well, so there’s a challenge in navigating that,” said Mark Lupo, business education and resilience specialist with the SBDC, a UGA Public Service and Outreach (PSO) unit. “Our goal is to help businesses understand who is eligible, how do they determine if they’re eligible and what they need to do next through this webinar.”
Other UGA PSO units involved in the webinar are the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government and the Archway Partnership.
“This support is crucial considering that the pandemic has limited events at these venues, making it hard to raise the funding needed to keep them going,” said Matt Bishop, director of the Fanning Institute, which serves nonprofit organizations in addition to communities and youth. “We encourage eligible nonprofits to learn more about this program, as well as other relief opportunities available through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.”
Webinar participants will hear details of the grant program, learn how to apply and be able to ask questions of presenters.
The webinar will be hosted virtually through Zoom at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 4. The event is no cost to participants but registration is required.
