Deadline: 15th November 2022

The US Embassy in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe announces the call for concept notes for the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) 2023 Grant Programme - a programme of the US Department of State.

Programme objectives

• The US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation supports the preservation of cultural sites, cultural objects and traditional forms of cultural expression in more than 100 countries around the world. Cultural heritage endures as a reminder of humanity's historical contributions and experiences. By taking a leading role in efforts to preserve cultural heritage, the United States shows its respect for other cultures.

Financing information

• AFCP projects strengthen civil society, encourage good governance and promote political and economic stability around the world. Project awards range from US$ 10,000 to US$ 500,000.
• Competition format: The US Embassy in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe is accepting concept notes from interested and eligible organisations. This is not a full proposal. The purpose of the concept note process is to allow applicants to submit programme ideas for evaluation before requiring the development of a full request for proposal.

Funding Areas:

• The AFCP Grants Programme 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 (resolving damage or deterioration of an object or site)
  • Consolidation (connecting or reconnecting elements of an object or site)
  • Documentation (recording in analogue or digital format of the condition and salient features of an object, place or tradition)
  • Inventory (list of objects, places or traditions by location, characteristic, age or other unifying characteristic or state)
  • Preventive Conservation (attending to 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 only appropriate with fine arts, decorative arts and historic buildings)
  • Stabilisation (reducing the physical disturbance of an object or location)

Eligible Project Implementers

• Eligible project implementers are defined as reputable and responsible non-commercial entities that can demonstrate that they have the necessary capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage. Eligible implementers may include non-governmental organisations, museums, educational institutions, ministries of culture or similar institutions and organisations, including US-based educational institutions and organisations subject to Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code. The AFCP will not award grants to individuals, business entities or previous award winners that have not met the objectives or reporting requirements of previous awards.
• Round 1 Concept Note Requirements: Concept notes must include:
  • Project basics, including job title, expected project duration (Note: applicants may propose project periods of up to 60 months), location/site and estimated project cost (amount requested from AFCP; in US dollars).

Project implementer

• Project Scope of Work summarising the preservation objectives and any broader objectives of the host country or community (i.e. what they hope to gain from the project beyond preserved heritage and how they plan to get there; maximum 3,000 characters).
• 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 necessity of the proposed project (crumbling walls, water damage, etc.).

Ineligible

• The AFCP does not support the following activities or costs and will consider requests for AFCP support for any of these activities or costs ineligible:
  • Preservation or purchase of cultural objects, collections or real estate in private or commercial ownership, including those whose transfer from private or commercial ownership to public ownership is foreseen, planned or in process but not finalised at the time of the request.
  • Preservation of the natural heritage (physical, biological and geological formations, palaeontological collections, habitats of endangered animal and plant species, fossils, etc.), unless the natural heritage has a cultural heritage connection or dimension.
  • Preservation of hominid or human remains.
  • Preservation of media (newspapers, newsreels, radio and TV programmes, etc.).
  • Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.).
  • Development of curricula or educational materials for use in the classroom.
  • Archaeological excavations or exploratory prospecting 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 exhibitions, objects or collections for new or existing museums.
  • Construction of new buildings, additions to buildings or permanent roofs (over archaeological sites, for example).
  • Commissioning new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes.
  • Creating new or modern adaptations of traditional dances, songs, chants, musical compositions, theatre plays or other existing performances.
  • Creation of replicas or conjectural reconstructions of cultural objects or sites that no longer exist.
  • Relocating cultural venues from one physical location to another.
  • Removal of cultural objects or elements of cultural sites from the country for any reason.
  • Digitisation of cultural objects or collections, unless it is part of a larger, clearly defined conservation, documentation or public diplomacy effort.
  • Conservation plans or other studies, unless they are a component of a larger project to implement the results of these studies.
  • Cash reserves, endowments or revolving funds (funds must be spent within the grant period [up to five years] and cannot be used to create an endowment or revolving fund).
  • Costs of fundraising campaigns.
  • Interested and eligible organisations are encouraged to submit a concept note

For more information, visit https://ao.usembassy.gov/the-us-ambassadors-fund-for-cultural-preservation-afcp-application-for-2023-grants-program-is-now-open/