S.F. venues to see relief funding double

Cityfunded relief to San Francisco’s nightlife and entertainment venues is poised to double from $1.5 million to $3 million, Supervisor Matt Haney announced Wednesday.

The additional funding, announced at a Budget and Appropriations Committee meeting, was made possible after negotiations involving the city’s $125 million budget surplus, which also made the initial $1.5 million possible, Haney confirmed by phone. He proposed the San Francisco Music and Entertainment Venue Recovery Fund in December, “and since we proposed this fund, the need has only gotten greater,” he said.

Haney said the city has been working with venues to make the application process for grants as easy as possible. “We expect we can get money out of the door in early April,” he said, with each venue receiving between approximately $30,000 and $100,000, and many getting around $50,000.

“Our goal is to get money into venue bank accounts as fast as possible,” said PianoFight Artistic Director Rob Ready, who was among the venue leaders who helped design the application. “Time is the enemy.”

Haney said the fund website will have a donation button added as soon as next week so that private sources can contribute as well.

The $3 million in aid is far less than the $48 million the Independent Venue Alliance and the San Francisco Venue Coalition estimate their members will need to cover their losses.

The news came on the oneyear anniversary of San Francisco’s shelterinplace order, when the city’s entertainment venues went dark. Though other types of businesses, including restaurants, have been allowed to reopen at least in some capacity for some periods since then, venues haven’t been permitted to open their doors at all. On Saturday, venues throughout the city marked the anniversary with a campaign, posting messages such as “One Year Dark” or “No Shows Since 3/13/20” on their marquees and facades.

The Venue Recovery Fund could be the first government pandemic relief many local venues receive.

“We have received no artsspecific COVID19 relief funding from either national, state or city grants,” said Barry Threw, executive director of Gray Area, a Mission District venue that produces events aimed at both arts and tech crowds. “We have survived to this point through the generosity of our community, but support from the Venue Recovery Fund is of existential consequence for us.”