Deadline: 5-Jan-24
The U.S. Embassy in El Salvador is now accepting Round 1 concept notes for the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) fiscal year 2024 competition.
Program Objectives
- AFCP was established to help countries preserve cultural heritage and to demonstrate U.S. respect for other cultures. The aim is to preserve cultural sites or objects that have an historical or cultural significance to the cultural heritage of El Salvador.
- AFCP gives top priority to project activities in keeping with international standards for the preservation of cultural heritage. An appropriate preservation activity is one that protects the values of the site, object or collection, or form of traditional cultural expression, as they are understood by stakeholders. Stakeholders may include national, regional, or local cultural authorities, the local community, and others with vested interests in the site and the outcome of a project.
Areas
- Through the AFCP Program, the Department of State supports projects to preserve cultural heritage in the following three areas:
- Cultural Sites
- This might include (but is not limited to) historical buildings and sites, sacred places, monuments, and archaeological sites. Proposals in this category may involve, for example, restoration of an historic building, an archaeological survey as a component of a preservation plan, preservation management planning for a site, or documentation of sites in a region for preservation purposes.
- Cultural Objects and Collections
- From a museum, cultural site, or similar institution. This includes archaeological and ethnographic objects, paintings, sculpture, manuscripts, photographic and film collections, and general museum conservation activities. Proposals in this category may involve, for example, conservation treatment for an object or collection of objects; needs assessment of a collection with respect to its condition and strategies for improving its state of conservation; inventory of a collection for conservation purposes; the creation of safe environments for storage or display of collections; or specialized training in the care and preservation of collections.
- Forms of Traditional Cultural Expression
- This includes traditional music, rituals, knowledge, languages, dance, drama, and crafts. Proposal in this category may involve documenting and audiovisual recording of traditional music and dance forms as part of a traditional expression and making the information and recordings available, or support for training in preservation or traditional arts or crafts that are threatened by extinction.
- Cultural Sites
Funding Information
- Award amounts: awards may range from $10,000 to a maximum of $500,000.
- Length of performance period: up to 60 months
- Number of awards anticipated: 1
- Anticipated program start date: Depending on availability of funds
Eligibility Criteria
- The U.S. Embassy defines eligible project applicants as reputable and accountable non-commercial entities that are registered and active in the U.S. government’s System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov and able to demonstrate that they have the requisite experience and capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage. This may include non-governmental organizations, museums, ministries of culture, or similar institutions and organizations, including U.S.-based organizations subject to Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code.
- The U.S. Embassy will vet applicants for eligibility, suitability, and reputable performance in cultural preservation or similar activities and ensure that the applicants are able to receive U.S. federal assistance.
- Past AFCP award recipients may submit applications for continuation funds under this opportunity.
- The AFCP will not award grants to individuals, commercial entities, or past award recipients that have not fulfilled the objectives or reporting requirements of previous AFCP awards. Preference will be given to applicants that place their AFCP project in the context of a greater cultural programming.
Ineligible
- AFCP does not support the following:
- Preservation or purchase of privately or commercially owned cultural objects, collections, or real property, including those whose transfer from private or commercial to public ownership is envisioned, planned, or in process but not complete at the time of proposal submission;
- Preservation of natural heritage (physical, biological, and geological formations, paleontological collections, habitats of threatened species of animals and plants, fossils, etc.);
- Preservation of hominid or human remains;
- Preservation of news media (newspaper, newsreels, etc.);
- Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.);
- Development of curricula or educational materials for classroom use.
For more information, visit U.S. Embassy in El Salvador.