City unveils $3 million venue recovery fund; application to open April 19 and close May 5

Regina De Contrerasi, director of the Office of Small Business, told the Entertainment Commission that the newly established Music and Entertainment Venue Recovery Fund has a $3,000,000 allocation from the general fund and that her office will administer the grant program.

"This Recovery Fund is to provide grants to music and entertainment venues that have been impacted by COVID," Regina De Contrerasi said, describing eligibility, priority categories and key deadlines.

De Contrerasi summarized five eligibility requirements: an active place-of-entertainment permit as of Feb. 25; a principal function of providing live entertainment (defined by performance space, sound/lighting systems and marketing materials); documentation (floor plans, photos, receipts, insurance, marketing); a commitment to maintaining live-entertainment programming; and certification under penalty of perjury that the grant need is based on expenses such as rent, payroll, insurance and utilities. The program will align documentation requirements with the Save Our Stages rubric to reduce duplicate paperwork.

The fund will use five priority categories to sequence awards (imminent danger of closing, 15+ years of operation, legacy business, maximum occupancy under 100, and location in a cultural district). De Contrerasi said all eligible venues in this first round will receive the same grant amount, with priority given to venues meeting more of the additional criteria. The ordinance allocating the $3 million had its second reading at the Board of Supervisors and will be deposited into the venue fund after signature.

Key timeline details provided by De Contrerasi: the online application will go live on April 19 and remain open for 2.5 weeks (closing on May 5); staff aim to review applications between May 6 and June 4 and begin notifying applicants of awards by May 26. De Contrerasi said the office was still finalizing payment logistics and city-attorney sign-off; the office is considering supplier sign-up to write checks directly or partnering with OEWD or a nonprofit to distribute funds if a waiver of the 12(b) process is not available.

Commissioners asked whether the Office of Small Business has the staff capacity to process applications quickly. De Contrerasi said staff are working to streamline the application and that she is allocating at least one staffer to the review; she welcomed commission support to help expedite resourcing where needed. When asked about minimum award amounts the director said there is currently a $10,000 minimum but that the final award will depend on how many applicants meet eligibility criteria.

De Contrerasi closed by thanking stakeholder groups (Independent Venue Alliance, SF Venue Coalition) and city partners who helped craft the program.