After failing on the first launch, the U.S. Small Business Administration will try again on Monday to begin accepting applications for a long-awaited grant program to help music and arts presenters who have lost business during the pandemic.

The Shuttered Operators Venue Grant program will reopen for applications at noon Monday, Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, announced in a tweet on Friday.

The SBA website failed during the initial launch in early April, bringing condemnation from many, and Pingree urged the SBA to fix the problem quickly.

Announcing the news of the reopening of the program on Twitter, she wrote, “Our venues have been through so much during the last year + that’s why I’ve been advocating for this program since the beginning. Glad to see they’ll finally get the help they so desperately need.”


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