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Here& #39;s a story for anyone interested in how things go completely *** ******.
In December congress approved a bill to get grants to performance venues that had been shut down. On April 8 the application portal opened. It didn& #39;t work. At all. https://twitter.com/SBAgov/status/1385394645455228929">https://twitter.com/SBAgov/st...
In December congress approved a bill to get grants to performance venues that had been shut down. On April 8 the application portal opened. It didn& #39;t work. At all. https://twitter.com/SBAgov/status/1385394645455228929">https://twitter.com/SBAgov/st...
Initially no one could create accounts. They fixed that, but then file uploads didn& #39;t work.
After a few hours they shut the site down and said they& #39;d fix it and re-open.
After a few hours they shut the site down and said they& #39;d fix it and re-open.
Important to all of this: for some reason they decided the grants were first-come-first served, and everyone expects the funds ($16.5B) to run out, so everyone is on edge about getting the applications in quickly.
So they say that they& #39;ll re-open the portal giving us advance notice.
A lot of time passes.
ALSO, on the same day the applications went live, the inspector general releases a report saying the safeguards in the granting process were inadequate.
A lot of time passes.
ALSO, on the same day the applications went live, the inspector general releases a report saying the safeguards in the granting process were inadequate.
So they pulled the FAQ and guidance documents and said they& #39;d be updated soon. It& #39;s not confirmed the IG report is why, but it might be, and either way leaves us with a lot of uncertainty
More time passes. A huge number of members of congress write them a letter asking WFT?
More time passes. A huge number of members of congress write them a letter asking WFT?
About a week ago they release a statement saying they expect the portal to reopen the week of the 18th (this week).
More time passes.
More time passes.
More time passes.
Finally we get an email, in my case at 11PM Thursday April 23rd.
"...the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant application portal will reopen on Saturday, April 24"
"...the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant application portal will reopen on Saturday, April 24"
Saturday
About 36 hours from the announcement
My best guess of what happened. They had promised congress that they& #39;d reopen "the week of April 18th" and they couldn& #39;t finish whatever they needed to do by Friday.
So now I& #39;m giving it 50% odds it gets moved to Monday, and 50% that they get sued for at the very least religious discrimination.
There& #39;s a lot about this grant application that& #39;s annoying. Like, we have to submit a floor plan to prove we& #39;re a venue. I& #39;m annoyed, but I understand it and fine, I can do that, it& #39;s not a big deal.
But launching a website that doesn& #39;t work and the re-opening on a Saturday???
But launching a website that doesn& #39;t work and the re-opening on a Saturday???
I& #39;m not sure what the point of this thread is other than: something went horribly wrong here, and one of my reporter friends might be interested in digging into what exactly that is.
Also, pour one out this weekend for any venue owners you know #svog
It& #39;s worth emphasizing, a huge part of why all this is horrible is that the granting will be first-come-first-served. I& #39;ve never seen that in government grants, and it seems like it creates horrible incentives.
Even something like a 7-day application period with a lottery if they run out of money would seem more equitable.
