Webinars: COVID-19 Economic Relief Act Funding Opportunities

This is a 2-part webinar series through Americans for the Arts. They will take place on January 15 and January 22, 2021, 2-3:30 pm EST. Click here for more information.

On December 27, 2020, the $900 billion “Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act” (Economic Aid Act) was signed into law along with a $1.4 trillion federal omnibus FY 21 appropriations bill. Additionally, Congress passed a veto-override to enact the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act on December 23, 2020, which includes support for creative arts therapies. Nina Ozlu Tunceli, the Chief Counsel of Government and Public Affairs at Americans for the Arts and the Executive Director of the Americans for the Arts Action Fund, will host the two-part webinar series to cover this vast array of arts funding opportunities on Friday at 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET on both January 15, 2021 and January 22, 2021. The two webinars will each feature unique content and will include expert speakers including attorney Sarah Mercer of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; Brigadier General Nolen Bivens (U.S. Army Ret.), Interim President and CEO of Americans for the Arts; Narric Rome, the VP of Government Affairs and Arts Education at Americans for the Arts; and senior representatives of the Small Business Administration. The following topics will be covered:

• New SBA Guidelines opening a new round of Paycheck Protection Program Forgivable Loan Applications, Forgiveness, Tax Implications, and no longer need to deduct EIDL Advances! ($147.5 billion)
• New SBA Guideline creating a second draw of PPP loans to current borrowers ($137 billion)
• New EIDL Loan and Advances – already open to apply now ($20 billion)
• New Shuttered Live Venue Operators and Talent Representatives available to nonprofit, for-profit, and government owned or operated performing arts venues and museums ($15 billion)
• New Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for gig workers, W2 employees, and now “mixed earners”
• New IRS Stimulus Checks of $600 per taxpayer (phasing incrementally out after $75,000 adjusted gross income) and $600 for each of the tax filer’s dependent children 17 years old and younger)
• New expanded and extended charitable tax deductions for non-itemizers up to $300 per tax filer, instead of $300 per tax return. (ie- married, joint filers can deduct up to $600 now)
• New retroactive and upcoming NEA and NEH grants that can be awarded for general operating support.
• New funding for creative arts therapies within the U.S. Department of Defense

Time will be available to ask questions during these two official webinars or you can follow up later to ask your questions during weekly Zoom Office Hours with Nina throughout 2021 on Fridays at 11:00 a.m. ET.