Live Venue Relief Program
Information on the Live Venue Relief Program
The Governor has authorized the allocation and expenditure of $12 million from the state's CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds for a relief program to target New Hampshire live performance venues that have been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many live shows and sports have been postponed or canceled, and, although some live performance venues have been able to provide entertainment, they are doing so with fewer shows and limited capacity to maintain social distancing in comparison to the usually large groups of people coming and sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. New Hampshire’s live performance venues are struggling to pull through with little or no revenue while still facing the heavy expenses of owning a live performance venue.
The "Live Venue Relief Program" supports performance venues facing revenue losses due to COVID-19, provided that they are primarily engaged in hosting live theatrical presentations, musical entertainment, and/or sporting or racing events that are seated, ticketed, and open to the public. The program is open to both for-profit and nonprofit facilities meeting these criteria.
Appeals
If your business was determined to be not eligible for a Live Venue Relief Fund grant because of one or both of the following reasons, you may request an appeal by emailing livevenue@goferr.nh.gov by 4:00 PM on Friday, November 20, 2020:
- Applying on behalf of a facility/venue that is not primary engaged in hosting live events that are seated and ticketed and open to the public
- Not operating the live performance venue
Please note: Appeal requests concerning any reason for ineligibility that is not specifically listed above, including loss or COVID-19 assistance amounts, or the grant amount itself, if any, will not be considered, except in the case of obvious error.
An appeal will consist of a re-review of the application, including supporting documentation, and consideration of any explanation from the business about why it is actually eligible for the program.
The appeal deadline for appealable issues is 4:00 PM on Friday, November 20, 2020. Appeal requests that are sent by any method other than by email to livevenue@goferr.nh.gov or that are not received by the deadline will not be considered.
Grant Amounts
The Live Venue Relief Program grant amounts were calculated as follows:
Step 1.
Calculate the live performance venue's "anticipated loss" by subtracting actual/projected 2020 total gross receipts from actual 2019 total gross receipts.
Step 2.
Calculate the live performance venue's "adjusted loss" by subtracting the business's combined total amount of all COVID-19 assistance received from non-GOFERR-related sources from the live performance venue’s "anticipated loss."
Step 3.
Calculate the live performance venue’s "pro rata loss" by multiplying the live performance venue’s "adjusted loss" by 46%, which was the pro rata percentage determined based on all recipients' gross receipts losses adjusted for COVID-19 assistance received from all sources, compared with the program allocation of $12 million.
Step 4.
Subtract the business's combined total amount of all COVID-19 assistance received from GOFERR-related sources (e.g., Main Street Relief Fund, General Assistance & Preservation (GAP) Fund, or Nonprofit Emergency Relief Fund) from the live performance venue's "pro rata loss" on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
The business’s grant amount is the amount calculated in Step 4, up to $1.5 million.
Live Venue Relief Program Grant Agreement Terms and Conditions
Important Dates
- Application Period: October 5, 2020 – October 13, 2020
- Application Deadline: October 13, 2020
- Email Notifications: November 5, 2020
- Appeal Deadline: 4:00 PM on Friday, November 20, 2020