Padilla Announces Over $1 Billion in Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Awards to Nearly 1,400 California Venues
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that 1,393 California venues have now received more than $1 billion in aid from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) Program. In June, Padilla joined a bipartisan group of Senators in urging the US Small Business Administration (SBA) to disburse Shuttered Venue Operator Grant funding to struggling live entertainment venues without delay. The SBA has gone from awarding just over 100 SVOG grants on June 10, to now more than 10,000 nationwide.
“Many of the world’s best musicians, actors, and performers got their start in small California venues,” Senator Padilla said. “The small venues—from theaters, to clubs, to stages—that are embedded deep in the cultural history of our local communities deserve our support. I was proud to vote for the American Rescue Plan, which provides much needed aid to the small businesses operating local venues. We can’t have a recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic that ignores our cultural institutions. That’s why I joined a bipartisan group of Senators in urging the Small Business Administration to get these grants to venue operators more quickly. I thank SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman for listening to our concerns and working to expedite the award process. I will continue to work with the Biden administration and my Senate colleagues to deliver critical aid and support an equitable recovery from this pandemic”
Congress created SVOG in the bipartisan Economic Aid Act passed in December 2020, which also appropriated $15 billion to the program. An additional $1.25 billion in funding for the program was included in the historic American Rescue Plan that Padilla voted for and Biden signed into law in March.
More than two thirds of the awards have gone to venues with fewer than 10 employees, helping the smallest of small businesses
SVOG provides grants of up to $10 million to live venue operators and promotors, theatrical producers, live performing arts organizations, museums, independent movie theaters, and talent representatives that can demonstrate a revenue loss of at least 25 percent due to the pandemic. Grant awards are for an amount equal to 45% of the recipient organization’s 2019 gross earned revenue, up to $10 million.
Click here for a list of California SVOG award recipients by city.
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