Florida venues get more than $430M in federal COVID-19 grants

Aid program targeted performing arts organizations, theaters, museums, and similar venues that suffered losses during the pandemic

File photo of the Florida Theatre (Copyright 2020 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Small Business Association has now released data on businesses and nonprofits that received money through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program. The program aims to help live venue operators or promoters, live performing arts organization operators, movie theater operators, museum operators, among others.

Nationwide, the program includes more than $16 billion in grants to venues that were impacted by the pandemic. As of Monday, the program had already awarded 9,844 grants, totaling $7.6 billion dollars. Businesses or promoters that received a Paycheck Protection Program loan after Dec. 27, 2020, would have this grant reduced by their loan amount.

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According to data released this week, a total of 530 venues in Florida have received grants, totaling more than $430 million. The largest grants in the state were for $10 million each, of which five were awarded.

In Jacksonville, the largest grants went to Florida State College at Jacksonville Foundation ($4,005,095) and the Florida Theatre Performing Arts Center ($3,287,641). Other prominent recipients locally included Sun-Ray Cinema, Small Blue Planet Inc. (operator of the San Marco Theatre), Jacksonville Symphony Association, and Theatre Jacksonville.