The Fund will provide immediate financial support to independently owned and operated restaurants and bars impacted by COVID-19 in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. The Fund will initially support the hundreds of restaurants and bars that have participated in the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One (SOBEWFF^®) anytime during the past five years. After that community has been served and as the Fund continues to collect donations to finance local relief efforts, it will open up support to any independently owned and operated restaurant or bar in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach county that has been negatively impacted by COVID-19-related shutdowns.

At present, we are limiting our funding to Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

Yes. Each eligible restaurant or bar will be considered. Restaurant/bar owners are required to submit one (1) application per establishment.

Only restaurant and bar owners applying on behalf of their establishments, which meet the requirements outlined above, will be considered. We encourage employees to contact the owner/operator of their establishment to apply for financial support on behalf of their team.

We have received an overwhelming response to our Fund and in an effort to impact as many members of the local hospitality community as possible (while also remaining as equitable as possible), we are distributing up to $500 per laid-off or furloughed employee, with a maximum of up to $15,000 per restaurant/bar owner or restaurant/hospitality group. With that in mind, business owners of multiple establishments and/or outlets of the same establishment are strongly encouraged to disperse the Fund’s grant money to employees based on overall need, regardless of which establishment(s) has/have employed the individuals benefiting from the grant. These parameters may change in the future, and if they do, we will be sure to update our website accordingly.

No. Financial support from this Fund should be distributed directly to employees who have been furloughed, laid off, or whose incomes have been significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each business owner (applicant) must provide the appropriate documentation of payout to employees (i.e. copies of pay stubs, bank account information, or any other documentation acceptable to FIU at its discretion).

Once an approved restaurant or bar receives the requisite funding, it is the restaurant or bar owner’s responsibility to ensure that the money gets distributed amongst his/her employees who have been furloughed, laid off, or whose incomes have been significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Generally, no. IRS section 139 provides that qualified disaster relief payments from any sources in connection with qualified disasters are not taxable as income and are not subject to employment taxes or withholding (The COVID-19 pandemic is a qualified disaster). Please consult with your tax advisor for a final determination, as your individual situation may be different.

Yes. All checks should be made payable to FIU Foundation and mailed to: FIU Foundation 11200 S.W. 8^th Street MARC 5^th Floor Miami, FL 33199 Please include “Shivani Joshi c/o SOBEWFF^®/FIU Hospitality Industry Relief Fund” in the memo line.

Yes. Our wiring instructions can be found here.

Yes, all donations are tax deductible and will be administered by FIU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. All transaction fees will be waived as well.

For all donation-related inquiries, please call one of the following members of the Development Department at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University: Shivani Joshi P: 305.753.8940 Kasey Lohn P: 786.457.0272 Natalie Osorio P: 305.919.4505 For organizational and/or sponsor-related donations or questions, please email industryrelief@sobewff.org.

For all application-related and/or general inquiries, please contact generalinquiries@sobewff.org.