Lapse Provision Fanfic is an investigative project about conditional public funding.
In March of 2025, as the Sundance Institute was considering a change of venue for its annual Film Festival, the Utah State Legislature approved a $3.5 million grant to be awarded to the organization on the condition that the festival remain in Utah.
Authorization to award the grant was delegated to the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) with clear instructions within the legislation that “...If the Sundance Institute chooses to leave the state of Utah, GOEO shall not disburse the funds provided for this purpose and shall allow them to lapse.” (the “lapse provision,” emphasis added)
When Sundance announced that the 2027 festival would be held in Colorado, Utah Governor Spencer Cox did his best to give the news a positive spin, alluding to unidentified parties “interested in doing something bigger… and better.”
In January of 2026, the GOEO Business Development Board approved a $2 million state grant for an unknown nonprofit organization that, to date, appears to exist only on paper. Several articles about the grant and GOEO’s approval were published by local and national media outlets. GOEO made no formal announcement, issued no press release, and, according to an article in an entertainment trade publication, “... board members did not respond to a request for comment.”
This is not a general watchdog site for all of GOEO or every grant the state gives out. It’s a close examination of this specific grant proposal, gathering all publicly available information in one place to ensure the paper trail doesn’t get lost or buried. The public has a right to know what was promised, how it was handled, and where exactly that $2 million came from.
If you care about how Utah uses public funds—especially for film and creative projects—this site is meant to make things easier to follow. Start with the timeline, open the linked documents, and decide for yourself whether the process around this grant feels open, fair, and in the public interest.