Now that the stimulus package has been passed (“Way to go, Grandpa Joe”), venues are eagerly anticipating receiving monies as part of the Save Our Stages Act. The brainchild of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), the $19 billion set aside for independent venues throughout the country will be administered by NIVA’s Implementation Task Force in conjunction with the federal government’s Small Business Administration (SBA).
“We are working hard to make sure that NIVA members receive the help they need via this program,” NIVA said. “We seek to ensure the emergency relief is dispersed as Congress intended [and] that the instructions and process to apply for grants ensure that the process is implemented accurately, fairly, and as expediently as possible.”
The funding may take weeks, “even months,” NIVA says, to start flowing. To help in the meantime, please consider contributing to a NIVA nonprofit, The Giving Back Fund, via SaveOurStages.com.
Contact HearSay at anthony@fwweekly.com.
