Manage your SVOG grant

• Post-application guidance 
• FAQ regarding Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) 
• Post-award FAQ: Answers to common questions from SVOG awardees

• Monitoring, auditing, and compliance info session
• SVOG April Office Hours: Expense Report, Closeout, and information about connecting with your Grants Management Specialist
• Introduction to SVOG Audit Requirements and the Single Audit

Allowable use of funds

Funds may be used for specific expenses, which include: 

• Payroll costs 
• Rent payments 
• Utility payments
• Scheduled mortgage payments (not including prepayment of principal)
• Scheduled debt payments (not including prepayment of principal on any indebtedness incurred in the ordinary course of business prior to February 15, 2020)
• Worker protection expenditures 
• Payments to independent contractors (not to exceed $100,000 in annual compensation for an individual employee of an independent contractor) 
• Other ordinary and necessary business expenses, including maintenance costs 
• Administrative costs (including fees and licensing) 
• State and local taxes and fees 
• Operating leases in effect as of February 15, 2020 
• Insurance payments 
• Advertising, production transportation, and capital expenditures related to producing a theatrical or live performing arts production. (May not be primary use of funds) 

Grantees may not use award funds to: 

• Buy real estate 
• Make payments on loans originated after February 15, 2020. 
• Make investments or loans 
• Make contributions or other payments to, or on behalf of, political parties, political committees, or candidates for election. 
• Pay for any other use prohibited by the Administrator. 

Grantee recordkeeping: 

Grantees will be required to maintain documentation demonstrating their compliance with the eligibility and other requirements of the SVOG program. They must retain employment records for four  years following their receipt of a grant and retain all other records for three  years. 

Final budget Action Items are currently going out as SVOG Awards are finalized. If you have any outstanding Action Item related to an award decision, please complete that as soon as possible so that we may finalize your SVOG Award. Grant Management Specialists will be assigned after awards have been finalized and Final Budget Action Items have been sent.

• How to prepare for your final budget
• How to submit your final budget
• Log into the SVOG portal  
• Active Grantee and Closeout Information Session: Budget Discussion

The Expense Report Action Item is the first step in the Closeout process. The Expense Report Action Item will be sent after the Final Budget has been approved and will be available through the remainder of the grant term. Grantees will have 120 days from the end of their grant term (Noted as the Budget Period “Through” Date on your most recent Notice of Award Form 1222 Box 5) to complete their Expense Report.

The Expense Report Action Item is currently only available for Grantees with approved Final Budgets. Please monitor your email for notification of the Expense Report Action item and make sure to complete any action issued to your grantee portal.  

• How to Prepare for and Submit your Expense Report
• Log into the SVOG portal  
• Active Grantee and Closeout Information Session: Budget Discussion
• April Office Hours: Expense Report Action Item Discussion

Grantees that expend $750,000 or more in total federal funds in a given fiscal year are generally required to complete a third-party Audit. For more information on audit requirement thresholds, please see our webinar videos linked below. Grantees with SVOG awards of at least $500,000 should have received an Audit Report Action Item to indicate whether or not audit requirements are applicable to them. Please monitor your SVOG portal for the Audit Report Action item.

If your SVOG award is less than $500,000 and you expend over $750,000 in total federal funds within a given fiscal year, please reach out to your Grant Management Specialist to request an Audit Report Action Item.

SVOG audit webinar series

• Introduction to SVOG Audit Requirements and the Single Audit
• Auditing and the Compliance Supplement  
• Audit Requirements for For-Profit Entities

Helpful audit-related resources

• Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200)
• 2022 OMB Compliance Supplement​
• Single Audit | AICPA
• SVOG guidance documents and FAQs
• Audit attestation requirement for for-profit SVOG recipients
• SVOG Audit Requirements Threshold for For-Profits: Entities using Cash Basis Accounting
• SVOG Audit Requirements Threshold for For-Profits: Entities using Accrual Basis Accounting

Monitoring is an SBA-led review of grantees to determine whether award funds were used for eligible and allowable purposes. All federal grants include monitoring and all SVOG grantees should be prepared for monitoring. SBA uses a risk-based monitoring system to select the grantees to monitor. SBA will notify you if you have been selected for monitoring. 
 
If selected for monitoring, you will receive a notification in the portal and an email from SBA notifying you that an action item is pending response. The action item will provide the monitoring scope and the information and documentation you must provide.  
 
Monitoring events may start while the grantee is actively implementing its award. SBA may also begin a monitoring review once the closeout phase has been initiated or after a grant award has been closed out.

Helpful resources 

• Introduction to the Monitoring Phase Video (10 min.)
• What to expect during the Monitoring Phase Webinar (1 hr.)
• Post-application guidance
• Post-award FAQ: Answers to common questions from SVOG awardees

SBA cannot complete grant award closeout if any of the following conditions are present: an open monitoring event, unresolved audit issues, or an unresolved action item.

Once your Expense Report has been approved, SBA will issue your SF-425. Approval of the SF-425 will finalize closeout.

Grantees must maintain documentation after closeout demonstrating their compliance with the eligibility and other requirements of the SVOG program after closeout. Document retention periods are four years following their receipt of a grant for employment records and three years for all other records.

• SVOG Closeout Requirements Webinar
• Post-application guidance for SVOG applicants
• SVOG post-award Frequently Asked Questions

As explained in Post-Award FAQ 24, any unused or revoked SVOG funds must be returned to SBA. If your total sum of expenditures listed in your Expense Report is less than the total SVOG award disbursed, SBA will issue repayment instructions to collect the unspent funds. If all or some of your SVOG funds are revoked, SBA will contact you with more information.

Please make sure to confirm your repayment amount with your Grant Management Specialist before initiating repayment; doing so will ensure timely and proper processing of your repayment.

If SVOG funds were used to purchase equipment or unused supplies with a current market value of $5,000 or more, grantees must:

1. Maintain records which contain a description of the equipment, serial number or other identification number, the source of funding for the property (including Federal Award Identification Number), the name of the title holder, the acquisition cost, the location, use and condition of the equipment, and any ultimate disposition information including date of disposal or sale price of the property.
2. Take a physical inventory of the equipment at least every two years and reconcile it with existing records.
3. Develop and implement a control system to safeguard the equipment from loss, damage, and theft. Any loss, theft, or damage must be investigated.
4. Adequately maintain the equipment in good condition
5. Follow proper procedures for the sale of any equipment to ensure the highest possible return.

If a grantee disposes of equipment purchased with SVOG funds that has a fair market value greater than $5,000, or intends to do so at any point, the grantee must request disposition instructions as part of the Expense Report Action Item.

Post-Award FAQs 55 through 60 go into further detail related to Property Compliance requirements. Equipment items with a fair market value of less than $5,000 (per unit) at grant award closeout may be retained or sold without triggering repayment. SBA will presume that equipment with a fair market value of $5,000 or more will be retained for continued use unless the grantee requests disposition instructions as part of their response to the Expense Report Action Item. For more information on property compliance requirements, contact your Grant Management Specialist.

Per 2 CFR 200.305 and FAQ 153, a grantee must maintain award funds in interest bearing accounts. The grantee may keep interest of up to $500 per year for administrative expenses. Any interest over $500 per year must be remitted to the Department of Health and Human Services Payment Management System.

• What can grantees do with interest made from the SVOG funds that were in their bank account?

Interest up to $500 per year may be kept for administrative expenses.

• What do grantees do with interest over $500.00?

Any additional interest earned each year must be sent to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Payment Management System (PMS). Funds should be sent Electronically via either the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network or a Fedwire Funds Service payment.
Grantees should send both the payment as well as an explanation or memo stating: “This refund is for interest from Small Business Administration Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Award Number(s) SBAHQ21SV______.”
Your full Grant Award Number can be found on your Notice of Award (SBA Form 1222).

• Where Does a Grantee Send the Interest Payment?

When returning interest to PMS you must include the following as applicable:

• Have More Questions on interest payments?

See the most up-to-date repayment instructions.
Health and Human Services’ Payment Management System customer support can be reached at 877-614-5533 or PMSSupport@psc.hhs.gov.

For Shuttered Venue Operators Grant application portal technical assistance such as a password resets, browser suggestions, or how to use the multi-factor authentication with an app and the QR code, grantees can email svogrant@sba.gov or call 800-659-2955. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. The call center is open from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday.