Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP)

Small Grants Competition Announcement

The U.S. Embassy Turkey and the Cultural Heritage Center of the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State are pleased to announce the 2019 call for proposals for the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) Competition.

AFCP was established to support countries in preserving their cultural heritage and to demonstrate U.S. respect for other cultures. The AFCP competition for Turkey aims to support preservation of cultural sites or objects and museum collections of historical or cultural significance to the cultural heritage of Turkey.

The deadline for submitting proposal is Friday, December 7, 2018, 5:30pm Turkey time.

Submission:

The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, December 7, 2018, 5:30pm Turkey time.
Application form and all the required attachments must be submitted in English in electronic format to the following address:
AFCPTurkey@state.gov (Subject: AFCP Small Grants Competition 2019)

The application form needs to be filled in word format but attachments can be sent in jpeg and pdf. Please do not send RAR format zip documents. Send separate emails if the application doesn`t fit in one email. Proposals sent to any other address will be deemed ineligible.
Please note that only the winning applicants will be contacted. Due to the volume of applicants and inquiries, we don`t accept letters of intent, concept papers, or requests for meetings or phone calls prior to application.

Budget:

Floor on Amount of Individual Awards: US $10,000 per project.
Ceiling on Amount of Individual Awards: $200,000 per project.

Funding Areas:

In the case of 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.
In the case of cultural objects and collections: conservation treatment for an object or collection of objects 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; 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.
In the case of forms of traditional cultural expression: documentation and audiovisual recording of traditional music, indigenous languages 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.

Special priorities of 2019 competition:

• U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations, such as cultural property agreements
• Disaster risk reduction for cultural heritage in disaster-prone areas
• Post-disaster cultural heritage recovery
• Preservation of inscribed World Heritage sites

Eligibility:

Only reputable and accountable noncommercial entities, such as non-governmental organizations, museums, ministries of culture, or similar institutions and organizations, including U.S.-based organizations subject to Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, that are registered and active in SAM.gov and able to demonstrate that they have the requisite experience and capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage can apply.
AFCP does not award grants to individuals, commercial entities, or past award recipients that have not fulfilled the objectives or reporting requirements of previous AFCP awards.

Ineligible Activities and Costs:

AFCP does not support the following activities or costs:
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 application
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 exploratory 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 exhibits, objects, or collections for new or existing museums
J. Construction of new buildings, building additions, or permanent coverings (over archaeological sites, for example)
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 conjectural reconstructions 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 or documentation 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 [up to five years] and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund);
S. Costs of fund-raising campaigns
T. Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous costs or fees
U. Costs of work performed prior to announcement of the award unless allowable per 2 CFR 200.458 and approved by the Grants Officer
V. International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project
W. Travel or study outside the host country for professional development
X. Individual projects costing less than $10,000
Y. Independent U.S. projects overseas