U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation 2024 Grants Program Funding Opportunity
The U.S. Mission to Yemen and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State are pleased to announce the 2024 call for proposals for the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) Grants Program. Since its inception in 2001, AFCP has helped preserve archaeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, museum collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression in Yemen and around the world.
The application process involves two rounds. The first round includes submission of project ideas in the form of concept notes, due to the U.S. Mission to Yemen on January 8, 2024. In the second round 2, the U.S. Mission to Yemen will invite shortlisted applicants to submit full project applications and complete the required forms, deadline will be announced at a later stage.
Funding awards will range from $10,000 to $500,000 per project. The U.S. Department of State anticipates funding 20 to 30 projects worldwide from eligible countries.
All applications should be submitted electronically to YemenPA@state.gov put “AFCP 2024” in the subject line, no later than January 8, 2024. No hard copies will be accepted. Failure to include any of the required information results in the automatic exclusion of the proposal.
For any inquiries regarding the submission process, please send inquiries to YemenPA@state.gov.
The AFCP Grants Program supports the preservation of archaeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, museum collection, 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 (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 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).
AFCP does not support the following activities or costs, and applications requesting any of these activities or costs ineligible:
- 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.) Unless the natural heritage has a cultural heritage connection or dimension
- 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
- Independent U.S. and foreign projects overseas
ELIGIBLE PROJECT APPLICANTS
The AFCP defines eligible applicants as reputable and accountable non-commercial entities that can demonstrate that they have the requisite capacity and permission to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage in the specified country.
In order to be eligible to receive an award, all entities must be registered and active in the U.S. government’s System for Award Management (SAM) on www.SAM.gov.
Eligible implementors may include:
- Non-governmental organizations
- Educational Institutions
- U.S. based educational institutions and organizations
- Public International Organizations (PIOs)
AFCP will not award grants to:
- Individuals
- Commercial entities
- Past award recipients that have not fulfilled the objectives or reporting requirements of previous awards
APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Round 1 Concept Note Requirements (Deadline: January 8, 2024):
Please follow all instructions below carefully. Applications that do not meet the
requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible.
Applicants must ensure:
- The application clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity
- All documents are in English, and
- All budgets are in U.S. dollars
Concept Note Content:
The proposal should contain sufficient information so that anyone not familiar with the subject of the proposed project would understand exactly what the applicant intends to do.
Each concept note submitted must include:
- Project basics, including working title, anticipated project length (Note: Applicants may propose project periods of up to 60 months), location/site, and project cost estimate (amount requested from AFCP; in U.S. dollars).
Project implementer information, including contact information
Scope of work summarizing (3,000 characters maximum):
-
- preservation activities and goals
- related host country or community goals (i.e., what they hope to gain from the project beyond the preserved heritage and how these goals will be achieved)
- anticipated strategic outreach activities to build awareness and engage communities and stakeholders.
Rationale for AFCP support, explaining why it’s in the interests of the U.S. government to fund the project, specifically:
-
- how the project relates to specific National Security Strategy plans, Integrated Country Strategy goals, existing bilateral agreements 9if applicable), or other U.S. foreign policy objectives (1,000 characters maximum).
- the projected public diplomacy benefits and impacts of the project (1,000 characters maximum).
Five (5) high quality digital images (JPEGs) or audiovisual files that convey the nature and condition of the site, collection, or tradition and show the urgency or need for the proposed project (collapsing walls, water damage, etc.).
Round 2 Full Application Requirements (Deadline: April 20, 2024):
Applicants selected in Round 1 to submit a full application must include the following:
- Project Activities Description and Timeframe that present the project tasks in chronological order and list the major milestones with target dates for achieving them.
- Statement of importance highlighting the historical, architectural, artistic, or cultural (non-religious) values of the cultural heritage.
- Proof of official permission to undertake the project from the office, agency, or organization that either owns or is otherwise responsible for the preservation and protection of the site or collection.
- Implementer Public Outreach Plan describing how the implementing partner will build awareness and engage communities and stakeholders. Awareness-building activities typically include social media posts, ribbon cutting events, and news stories. Community and stakeholder engagement activities may include community-led or community-produced workshops, short videos, documentary film, oral histories, storytelling, or interpretive exhibits, and educational or enrichment events tailored specific audiences, such as young people.
- Maintenance plan outlining the steps or measures that will be taken to maintain the site, object, or collection in good condition after the AFCP-supported project is complete; or, in the case of forms of traditional cultural expression, to preserve and disseminate the documentation, knowledge, or skills gained from the project.
- Data and Media Access Plan outlining how the implementing partner will share, as appropriate, data and media generated from the project with the public and the Department of State.
- If applicable, explain how the proposed project or project staff are linked to other Department of State cultural, educational, or other exchange programs.
- Résumés or CVs of the proposed project director and key project participants.
- Detailed project budget, demarcated in one-year budget periods (2024, 2025, 2026, etc.), that lists all costs in separate categories (Personnel, Fringe Benefits, Travel [including Per Diem], Equipment, Supplies, Contractual, Other Direct Costs, Indirect Costs); indicates funds from other sources; and gives a justification for any anticipated international travel costs; ((Note: Use the AFCP budget template available below).
- Budget narrative explaining how the costs were estimated (quantity x unit cost, annual salary x percentage of time spent on project, etc.) and any large budget line items.
- Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424), including Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A), and Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B).
- Relevant supporting documentation, such as historic structure reports, restoration plans and studies, conservation needs assessments and recommendations,
architectural and engineering records, etc., compiled in preparation for the proposed project. - Additional high quality digital images (JPEGs) or audiovisual files that convey the nature and condition of the heritage and show the urgency or need for the proposed project (collapsing walls, extensive water damage, etc.).
Application Review Process
Each application submitted to the U.S. Mission to Yemen will be evaluated based on its technical eligibility, responsiveness to the AFCP program objectives, and the quality of the application contents. Specific criteria include the following:
- Rationale for U.S. support and relevance to Mission and Government of Yemen priorities.
- Clarity and completeness of Activities Description and Timeframe (20 points max).
Importance (10 points max) - Clarity and completeness of Implementor Public Outreach Plan (15 points max).
- Project Maintenance Plan (15 points max).
- Budget and budget narrative (20 points max)
- Supporting Materials (resumes, assessments, reports, images, etc.) (10 points max)
- Digitization of cultural objects or collections, unless part of 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 be used to create an endowment or revolving fund).
- Costs of fund-raising campaigns
- Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous costs or fees
- Monitoring and evaluation plan.
