U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation

Deadline: 16-Nov-20

U.S. Mission Maputo is calling for project abstracts and full proposals for the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) 2021 Grants Program to encourage projects that promote American values, such as tolerance and respect for cultural diversity.

The U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) supports the preservation of cultural sites, cultural objects, and forms of traditional cultural expression in more than 100 developing countries around the world.

AFCP-supported projects include the restoration of ancient and historic buildings, assessment and conservation of rare manuscripts and museum collections, preservation and protection of important archaeological sites, and the documentation of vanishing traditional craft techniques and indigenous languages.

Program Objectives

The AFCP Grants Program supports the preservation of archaeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, museum collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression, such as indigenous languages and crafts. Appropriate project activities may include:

Anastylosis (reassembling a site from its original parts);
Conservation (addressing damage or deterioration to an object or site);
Consolidation (connecting or reconnecting elements of an object or site);
Documentation (recording in analog or digital format the condition and salient features of an object, site, or tradition);
Inventory related to the project in process (listing of objects, sites, or traditions by location, feature, age, or other unifying characteristic or state);
Preventive Conservation (addressing conditions that threaten or damage a site, object, collection, or tradition);
Restoration (replacing missing elements to recreate the original appearance of an object or site, usually appropriate only with fine arts, decorative arts, and historic buildings);
Stabilization (reducing the physical disturbance of an object or site).

Funding Information

Individual awards can range from $10,000 to $500,000 per project.

What kind of organization can apply for an AFCP grant?

U.S. Mission Mozambique encourages AFCP proposals from reputable and accountable noncommercial entities, such as:

Non-governmental organizations;
Institutes of Higher Education;
Museums;
Government institutions dealing with cultural heritage and preservation; and
Similar institutions and organizations that is able to demonstrate the requisite experience and capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage.

Other Eligibility Requirements

The AFCP further defines eligible applicants as reputable and accountable entities that are able to demonstrate that they have the requisite capacity and permission to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage in the specified country.

Ineligible Projects

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 application;
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 (newspapers, newsreels, radio and TV programs, etc.);
Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.);
Development of curricula or educational materials for classroom use;
Archaeological excavations or exploratory surveys for research purposes;
Historical research, except in cases where the research is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project;
Acquisition or creation of new exhibits, objects, or collections for new or existing Museums;
Construction of new buildings, building additions, or permanent coverings (over archaeological sites, for example);
Commissions of new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes;
Creation of new or the modern adaptation of existing traditional dances, songs, chants, musical compositions, plays, or other performances;
Creation of replicas or conjectural reconstructions of cultural objects or sites that no longer exist;
Relocation of cultural sites from one physical location to another;
Removal of cultural objects or elements of cultural sites from the country for any reason;
Digitization of cultural objects or collections, unless part of a larger, clearly defined conservation, documentation, or public diplomacy effort;
Conservation plans or other studies, unless they are one component of a larger project to implement the results of those studies;
Cash reserves, endowments, or revolving funds (funds must be expended within the award period [up to five years] and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund);
Costs of fund-raising campaigns;
Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous costs or fees;
Costs of work performed prior to announcement of the award unless allowable per 2 CFR 200.458 and approved by the Grants Officer;
International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project or to provide project leaders with learning and exchange opportunities with cultural heritage experts;
Individual projects costing less than $10,000 or more than $500,000; and
Independent U.S. projects overseas.