Deadline: 4-Jun-21
The Cultural Heritage Center (ECA/P/C) in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) invites submission of proposals from U.S. public and private nonprofit organizations to assist in the design and implementation of the FY 2021 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation Alumni Exchange (AFCP-AE).
The AFCP-AE will strengthen connections between American cultural preservation experts and the vast network of cultural heritage preservation professionals from around the world who have participated in one or several of the preservation projects funded through AFCP since 2001. It shall consist of a series of six regional workshops and one virtual global workshop focused on issues likely to face the cultural heritage preservation community over the next decade and the sharing of best practices to deal with the expected challenges. Foreign participants will include individuals from organizations that have implemented AFCP projects over the last 20 years who will be selected to represent a range of heritage types and contexts.
Goals
The overarching goals for the AFCP-AE are:
- To provide a platform for AFCP alumni to connect and learn from each other
- To promote best practices in cultural preservation and protection
- To provide professional development opportunities to AFCP alumni
Overall grant making authority for this program is contained in the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, Public Law 87-256, as amended, also known as the Fulbright-Hays Act. The purpose of the Act is “to enable the Government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries…; to strengthen the ties which unite them with other nations by demonstrating the educational and cultural interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the United States and other nations…and thus to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic and peaceful relations between the United States and the other countries of the world.” The funding authority for the program above is provided through legislation.
Funding Information
- Approximate Total Funding: $250,000, pending the availability of funds.
- Approximate Number of Awards: One
- Approximate Average Award: $250,000, pending the availability of funds
- Ceiling of Award Range: $250,000, pending the availability of funds.
- Anticipated Award Date: August 1, 2021, pending the availability of funds.
- Anticipated Project Completion Date: December 31, 2023
Components
The AFCP-AE will consist of three components:
- Global Alumni Workshop (approximately $25,000): In its 20 years of operation, the AFCP has supported the preservation of a wide range of heritage, from iconic monuments to museum collections and cultural traditions. AFCP awards grants to museums, ministries of culture, NGOs, and other organizations that preserve cultural heritage. Implementing organizations that design and execute AFCP projects become valuable partners for U.S. embassies in engaging communities around their cultural heritage.
- Regional Alumni Workshops (approximately $200,000): Similar to the Global Alumni Workshop, these regional workshops will allow AFCP alumni to share technical and logistical expertise and to celebrate the contributions of AFCP projects to regional diplomacy efforts and the promotion of U.S. values. Six regional workshops should be held – one for each of the Department’s six geographical regions.
- Ongoing Alumni Engagement Events (approximately $25,000): In addition to regional events, four short, virtual global engagement events will be held in starting in 2023. These 2 hours events will be open to the entire AFCP Alumni network and will consist of both a presentation by one or more experts on a topic of broad interest to the preservation community and an opportunity to network and discuss AFCP project updates with the community. The events should be able to accommodate a minimum of 50 participants.
Eligibility Criteria
- U.S. public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c) (3) may submit applications for this competition. Applicants must have nonprofit status with the IRS at the time of application.
- All applicants must also have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number and be registered in SAM.gov.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=332729
