U.S. Embassy in Tanzania

Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) 2023 Call for Concept Notes Now Closed.

The State Department’s Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) supports country-specific projects that preserve cultural sites, sites, cultural objects and collections, and forms of traditional expressions.

Funding Priorities: AFCP recommends funding for those proposals that include project activities in adherence to the following guidelines and to international standards for the preservation of cultural heritage. These activities may include:

1. Cultural Sites: Conservation of an ancient or historic building, preservation of an archaeological site, or documentation of cultural sites in a region for preservation purposes.
2. Cultural Objects and Collections: 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 and protection purposes; the creation of safe environments for storage or display of collections; or specialized training in the care and preservation of collections.
3. Forms of Traditional Cultural Expression: Documentation and audiovisual recording of traditional music and dance forms for broad dissemination as the means of teaching and further preserving them, or support for training in the preservation of traditional applied arts or crafts in danger of extinction.

 

Funding Areas: The AFCP Grant Program supports projects to preserve cultural heritage in the following areas:

1. Cultural Sites — such as, but not limited to, historic buildings and archaeological sites;
2. Cultural Objects and Collections from a museum, site, or similar institution — that include, but are not limited to, archaeological and ethnographic objects, paintings, sculpture, manuscripts, and general museum conservation needs; and,
3. Forms of Traditional Cultural Expression — such as traditional music, indigenous languages, and crafts.

 

Sites and Objects Having a Religious Connection: Religious objects and sites concepts notes will be accepted in this grant program under certain conditions. For example, an item with a religious connection (including a place of worship) may be the subject of a cultural preservation grant if the item derives its primary significance and is nominated solely on the basis of architectural, artistic, historical, or other cultural (not religious) criteria.

 

Competition Format: The application process involves two rounds: In Round 1, the Embassy will collect project ideas from the applicants in the form of concept notes, due January 8, 2023. In Round 2, the Embassy will invite applicants with promising ideas to submit full project applications, due April 14, 2023.

Eligibility Criteria: The program defines eligible project applicants as reputable and accountable non-commercial entities, such as non-governmental organizations, museums, ministries of culture, or similar institutions and organizations that are able to demonstrate that they have the requisite experience and capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage.

 

Ineligible Activities and Unallowable Costs: AFCP Grant Program does not support the following activities or costs, and the Embassy will deem applications requesting AFCP support for any of these activities or costs ineligible:

1. 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.
2. Preservation of natural heritage (physical, biological, and geological formations, paleontological collections, habitats of threatened species of animals and plants, fossils, etc.) unless the natural heritage has a cultural heritage connection or dimension.
3. Preservation of hominid or human remains.
4. Preservation of news media (newspapers, newsreels, radio and TV programs, etc.).
5. Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.).
6. Development of curricula or educational materials for classroom use.
7. Archaeological excavations or exploratory surveys for research purposes.
8. Historical research, except in cases where the research is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project.
9. Acquisition or creation of new exhibits, objects, or collections for new or existing museums.
10. Construction of new buildings, building additions, or permanent coverings (over archaeological sites, for example).
11. Commissions of new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes.
12. Creation of new or the modern adaptation of existing traditional dances, songs, chants, musical compositions, plays, or other performances.
13. Creation of replicas or conjectural reconstructions of cultural objects or sites that no longer exist.
14. Relocation of cultural sites from one physical location to another.
15. Removal of cultural objects or elements of cultural sites from the country for any reason.
16. Digitization of cultural objects or collections, unless part of a larger, clearly defined conservation, documentation, or public diplomacy effort.
17. Conservation plans or other studies, unless they are one component of a larger project to implement the results of those studies.
18. 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).
19. Costs of fund-raising campaigns.

 

SAM Registration: Applicants must be registered in the U.S. government’s System for Award Management (SAM) prior to receiving U.S, federal assistance. SAM will assign a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) automatically to any entity registering or renewing its record in the system. Registration in SAM is free: https://sam.gov/.

 

To Apply: Applications can be submitted via online form available here: https://forms.office.com/g/WvqLevYnh0