Today (September 23), the Legislature adopted H.3210, the state’s CARES Act Phase 2 funding allocation. If you’ve been following our blog, you’ll know that while both the House and Senate versions had a “nonprofit grant program”, only the House version put the arts as a priority service area for those grants. A Conference Committee (3 House, 3 Senate) was appointed to work out the differences between the two versions of the bill, and they adopted their compromise on September 22. That Conference Committee Report was then adopted by both the House and Senate and is now on the way to the Governor for his signature.
Where did the arts land in all of this? In the best position possible.
In the Bill:
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$25 million – Total Nonprofit Grant Program
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Grant Range: $2,500 – $50,000
Full application details have not been set, however a deadline to apply of November 1 is in the bill. -
Arts INCLUDED as Priority Service Area
While all nonprofits are eligible, the bill sets a certain number of priority areas who move to the front of the line for support. These are service areas that have either been hit hardest (arts), and others who have seen demand increase dramatically. -
Arts Commission Added to Grant Panel
This panel will review all grant applications, while the Department of Administration will staff the grant program and most likely manage all final application details and further guidance. -
Eligible Expenses: COVID-Related Costs
If you were awarded a PPP loan, or other CARES Act support, you cannot use those same expenses for this grant. There is still some guidance needed on exactly how that will be determined by the state. Look for more guidance once the Grant Panel and the Department of Administration get working on the application process.
What’s Next?
The Governor is expected to sign this bill into law. Then, the grant application and process will be established (led by the Department of Administration). The SCAA will of course help share that information, but we recommend following our friends at TogetherSC for the most in-depth and updated details.
We encourage every arts nonprofit to apply for this funding when it becomes available.
We also need everyone to send a note of “Thanks” to their legislator by clicking the link below.
Thank You
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TogetherSC, our state’s nonprofit association, for pushing for nonprofit support to begin with.
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SCAA Board Members who made some targeted advocacy calls to keep our momentum going.
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Rep. Mark Willis (Greenville / Laurens County) for speaking on behalf of the arts and getting the arts language included in the bill. (Email Rep. Willis >>)
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Advocates across the state who sent messages to legislators.
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The SC Legislature for listening and responding to the needs of the nonprofit, and nonprofit arts, sector.
What about individual artists and for-profit creative companies?
This “win” in the legislature, for nonprofit arts organizations, notably leaves out a large portion of the creative industry. The SCAA pushed for more specific support for substantial COVID relief across the industry in the state’s budget, but the Legislature will not adopt a new statewide budget before they return in January. CARES Act funding has numerous federal limitations, including a deadline to spend all of it by December 30, so while the SCAA pushed for “arts only” support, the avenue that proved most viable was to ensure eligibility for the arts in the nonprofit grant program.
However, for some small businesses, particularly those minority-owned, there is also a grant program created in the CARES Act Phase 2 that is meant to help alleviate COVID-related costs those businesses may have incurred. The Department of Administration will also lead that program.
