U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation 2013

Call for Proposals: Deadline December 02, 2012

The U.S. Embassy in Macedonia is pleased to announce a call for proposals for the 2013 Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) program. The Fund was established in 2001 to assist countries around the world in preserving their cultural heritage and to demonstrate U.S. respect for other cultures. The deadline for proposals is December 02, 2012. 

The grant process is highly competitive, world-wide in scope and all final funding decisions are made by State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Cultural Heritage Center in Washington, DC. The number of grants available in any given year is limited. Grants typically range from US$10,000 to US$100,000, depending on the nature of the preservation effort.

Following the submission deadline, the U.S. Embassy will review proposals carefully. Those applications that fully meet the guidelines and are competitive will be recommended to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for final consideration. 

DEADLINE: Proposals must be received by the American Cultural Center not later than December 2, 2012 and may be sent by e-mail to TaneskaB@state.gov.  

POINTS OF CONTACT: The points of contact are Brian Bauer, Assistant Public Affairs Officer, Email: BrianBP@state.gov ;  Borka Taneska, Cultural Affairs Assistant  Email: Taneskab@state.gov  and  Gazmend Ilazi Educational Affairs Assistant, Email: IlaziG@state.gov .  

Program Guidelines and Application Instructions 

GUIDELINES

An appropriate preservation activity is one that protects the values of the site, object of collection, or form of traditional cultural expression as they are understood by stakeholders. 

FUNDING AREAS: Proposals may include preservation projects directed at: 

1) A CULTURAL SITE OR SITES. This might include (but is not limited to):

Preservation of an archaeological or historical site, sacred place or monument;

2) AN OBJECT OR COLLECTION OF OBJECTS from a site, a museum or similar institution. This might include (but is not limited to):

Conservation of an object or collection of objects;

Inventory of a collection of objects for conservation purposes;

Creating suitable space and conditions for a collection of objects;

Specialized training in the care and preservation of collections. 

FUNDING PRIORITIES-GENERAL: AFCP gives top priority to project activities that adhere to these guidelines and to international standards for the preservation of cultural heritage. These activities may include: 

A. CULTURAL SITES: restoration of an ancient or historic building, preservation of an archaeological site, or documentation of cultural sites in a region for preservation purposes.

B. 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. 

FUNDING PRIORITIES-SPECIFIC TO THE AFCP 2013 ANNUAL COMPETITION: Proposals for projects that meet one or more of the following criteria will receive special consideration in FY 2013: 

A. Directly support U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations, such as cultural property protection agreements;

B. Strengthen capacity in country to preserve and protect cultural heritage;

C. Support the preservation of inscribed World Heritage sites;

D. Advance long-term cultural preservation objectives, lay the groundwork for subsequent AFCP-supported activities, or encourage the continued or expanded application of proven methods at the project site or elsewhere; and

E. Engage women, youth, or under-served communities. 

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS 

1. Grantee -- must be a reputable organization or institution; we will not approve grant agreements with individuals.

2. Proposal summary.

3. Detailed description of the project and participants, including the time frame for completion.

4. Indication of the importance of the cultural or sacred site (or sites), object (or collection), or form of expression. All should have a close association with the history and cultural development of the host country and demonstrate need for preservation or conservation.

5. Indication of the urgency of the project.

6. The impact of the U.S. contribution to the preservation project. 

Items 4 through 6 should not exceed 500 words. 

9. Resume of Project Director.

10. Detailed budget.

11. Indicate other funding sources, if any. Strong encouragement is given to local non-U.S. government source cost-sharing (including in-kind) from sources such as governments, international organizations, and the private sector. 

NOTA BENE:

-- AFCP does not support the following activities or costs, and applications involving any of the activities or costs below will be deemed ineligible: 

A. 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;

B. Preservation of natural heritage (physical, biological, and geological formations, paleontological collections, habitats of threatened species of animals and plants, fossils, etc.);

C. Preservation of hominid or human remains;

D. Preservation of news media (newspapers, newsreels, radio and TV programs, etc.);

E. Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.);

F. Development of curricula or educational materials for classroom use;

G. Archaeological excavations or surveys for research purposes;

H. Historical research, except in cases where the research is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project;

I. Acquisition or creation of new collections for new or existing museums;

J. Construction of new buildings;

K. Commissions of new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes;

L. Creation of new or the modern adaptation of existing traditional dances, songs, chants, musical compositions, plays, or other performances;

M. Creation of replicas or re-creation of cultural objects or sites that no longer exist;

N. Relocation of cultural sites from one physical location to another;

O. Removal of cultural objects or elements of cultural sites from the country for any reason;

P. Digitization of cultural objects or collections, unless part of a larger, clearly defined conservation effort;

Q. Conservation plans or other studies, unless they are one component of a larger project to implement the results of those studies;

R. Cash reserves, endowments or revolving funds; funds must be expended within the award period and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund or otherwise spent over many years;

S. Costs of fund-raising campaigns;

T. Operating expenses, i.e. expenses incurred during the day-to-day operational activities of an organization, such as office rent, utilities, license fees, and other costs for administrative time, services, or materials not directly related to performing project work;

U. Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous fees;

V. Costs of work performed prior to announcement of the award;

W. International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project;

X. Individual projects costing less than $10,000, or

Y. Awards to individuals or commercial entities. 

For more information about the AFCP project please visit the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) web page http://exchanges.state.gov/heritage/afcp.html