U.S. Embassy in Georgia

2023 Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation Grant (AFCP)

Proposal Solicitation for Cultural Heritage Preservation Projects ($10,000 – $500,000) 

The United States Embassy in Georgia is accepting project abstracts for the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) 2023 Competition.  Please see below for details of how to apply.

Through the AFCP Program, the Department of State supports projects to preserve cultural heritage in the following three areas:

CULTURAL SITES – such as, but not limited to, historic buildings and archaeological sites;

CULTURAL OBJECTS AND COLLECTIONS from a museum, site, or similar institution – that include, but are not limited to, archaeological and ethnographic objects, paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, and general museum conservation needs; and

FORMS OF TRADITIONAL CULTURAL EXPRESSION – such as traditional music, indigenous languages, and crafts.

APPLICATION CLOSING DATE: All project abstracts must be submitted on or before Friday, December 2, 2022, 18:00 pm. Applications submitted after 18:00 pm will be ineligible for consideration. Applications should be submitted to TbilisiCultural@state.gov.  We will confirm receipt of each proposal.  If you do not receive an confirmation email, please check the email address and ensure the email is within a reasonable size and resubmit.   

GENERAL FUNDING PRIORITIES: AFCP will recommend for funding those proposals that follow guidelines and international standards for the preservation of cultural heritage. These activities may include:

CULTURAL SITES: conservation of an ancient or historic building, preservation of an archaeological site (except permanent coverings over archaeological sites), or documentation of cultural sites in a region for preservation purposes.

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.

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.

IN 2023, AFCP WILL GIVE PREFERENCE TO PROJECTS THAT DO ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING:

Support disaster risk reduction for cultural heritage in disaster-prone areas or post-disaster cultural heritage recovery;

Partner, connect with, or feed into other public U.S. Embassy, Tbilisi programs.

PROJECT ABSTRACT REQUIREMENTS: The project abstract must include the following items in a Word file (please see the project abstract application form):

• Project title;
• Anticipated project length (in months);
• Project location and a brief description of the site;
• Project cost estimate (amount requested from AFCP; in U.S. dollars);
• Project implementer (organization) name, address, contact information;
• An official permission to undertake the project from the ministry, agency, or organization that either owns or is otherwise responsible for the preservation and protection of the site or collection;
• Project implementer SAM registration status;
• Project purpose that summarizes the goals and activities for achieving them and any broader country (Georgia) and community goals and activities achieving them.
• Five high-quality digital images (JPEGs) or audiovisual files. Please send the photos or audiovisual files to Tbilisiafcp@gmail.com;

The U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi will invite applicants with promising project abstracts to submit full project proposals by no later than the end of March 2023.

FULL PROJECT REQUIREMENTS:

The invited projects must include the following items:

Project dates;

Project activities description and timeframe that present the project tasks in chronological order and list the major milestones with target dates for achieving them (Note: Applicants may propose project periods of up to 60 months [five years]);

Revised/detailed scope of work with (1) clear preservation goals and activities for achieving those goals, and (2) the country or community’s intended broader goals and activities for achieving those goals (Note: When describing and ordering the activities for (1) and (2) above, highlight any major milestones and target dates for achieving them. Each set of activities should clearly lead to their corresponding goals with no gaps. The overall presentation should make a compelling case that the implementer has a clear and comprehensive sense of how to achieve the preservation and other goals).

Statement of importance highlighting the historical, architectural, artistic, or cultural (non-religious) values of the cultural heritage;

Implementer public awareness plan describing how the applicant intends to highlight and amplify AFCP-supported activities through print, electronic, and social media platforms;

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;

Résumés or CVs of the proposed project director and key project participants;

Detailed project budget, demarcated in one-year budget periods (2023, 2024, 2025, 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; (please see the AFCP excel budget form)

A budget narrative explaining how the costs were estimated (quantity x unit cost, annual salary x percentage of time spent on the project, etc.) and any large budget line items;

Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424), including Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A), Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B), and, if applicable, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL);

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;

ELIGIBLE PROJECT APPLICANTS include 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 will NOT support the following activities or costs, and applications involving any of the activities or costs below will be deemed 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 the 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.);
• 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 or documentation 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 the announcement of the award;
• International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project;
• Travel or study outside the host country for professional development;
• Individual projects costing less than $10,000;
• Independent U.S. projects overseas.

INELIGIBLE PROJECT APPLICANTS: AFCP does not award grants to individuals, commercial entities, or to past award recipients which have not fulfilled the objectives or reporting requirements of previous AFCP awards.

SAM REGISTRATION: Applicants must have a NATO Commercial, and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code and be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to submitting applications. NOTE:  This process can take weeks/months, especially for non-U.S. applicants.  Non-U.S. based applicants may request a NCAGE code at https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/scage/CageList.aspx . SAM is the official, free on-line registration database for the U.S. Government. SAM.gov collects, validates, stores, and disseminates data in support of federal agency acquisition and grant award mission. Registration in SAM is free: https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/

There will be an information session for the 2023 Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation Grants program consultation on Wednesday, November 9, 2022, at 4 PM at the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia conference hall.  Address:  7, Lado Gudiashvili St.

Questions about the grant application process should be directed to Tbilisicultural@state.gov with a subject line: AFCP 2023.