Funding Opportunity Title: AFCP Grants Program
Funding Opportunity Number: AFCP-2023-GP
Funding Instrument Type: Grant/Cooperative Agreement CFDA Number: 19.025
Length of Performance Period: 12 to 60 months
Award Amounts: Awards may range from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $500,000
Deadline for Applications: December 7, 2022, for Round I Concept Notes
Email: Rabatgrants@state.gov
This notice is subject to availability of funds and an approved Congressional spending plan.
The U.S. Mission in Morocco and the Cultural Heritage Center in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) are pleased to announce the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity.
A. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES:
This competitive global fund was established to help countries preserve cultural heritage and to demonstrate U.S. respect for other cultures. The projects selected to receive funding under this program will advance U.S. diplomatic goals and demonstrate the depth of U.S. respect for the cultural heritage of Morocco.
Priority will be given to applications that clearly demonstrate the impact of the project on local communities, Morocco’s socioeconomic development, and cultural preservation.
Funding Areas:
The AFCP 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 (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 missing 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)
B. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:
We define eligible project implementers as reputable and accountable non-commercial entities that can demonstrate they have the requisite capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage.
All entities selected for Round II must have a valid and active registration on www.SAM.gov by April 28, 2023.
Eligible Applicants:
· Foreign Institutions of Higher Education
· Foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernment organizations (NGOs)
· Foreign Public Entity, where permitted
· U.S. Non-Profit Organization (IRC section 501(c)(3))
· U.S. Institution of Higher Education
Non-eligible Applicants:
The AFCP will not award grants to individuals, commercial entities, or past recipients that have not fulfilled the objectives or reporting requirements of previous AFCP awards.
C. APPLICATION SUBMISSION AND REVIEW
This opportunity consists of two application rounds:
· Round I: Project Ideas and Concept Notes Submission
· Round II: Full Proposal Submissions
During Round I, applicants submit completed Concept Notes in English with budget estimate electronically to RabatGrants@state.gov (Subject: AFCP 2023 Grants Competition) by December 7, 2022.
Suggested concept note and budget forms are available here:
AFCP-2023-CONCEPT-NOTE-TEMPLATE
AFCP-2023-BUDGET ESTIMATE TEMPLATE
U.S. Mission Morocco’s review panel will evaluate and score eligible Concept Notes and nominate successful applicants to the Cultural Heritage Center for consideration to advance to Round II. Applicants invited to advance to Round II will be notified by mid-March and asked to submit a full project proposal by April 15, 2023.
Please note that all proposals must comply with the regulations and guidelines in this notice. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
D. INELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES AND UNALLOWABLE COSTS
AFCP does not support the following activities or costs:
· 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 modern adaptations 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 the announcement of the award unless allowable per 2 CFR 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 US $10,000 or more than $500,000.
· Independent U.S. projects overseas.
Sites and Objects Having a Religious Connection: The establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution permits the government to include religious objects and sites within an aid program under certain conditions. For example, an item with a religious connection (including a place of worship) may be the subject of a cultural preservation grant if the item derives its primary significance and is nominated solely based on architectural, artistic, historical, or other cultural and not religious criteria.
E. PROJECT DESIGN ASSISTANCE:
The U.S. Mission is available to answer questions and provide consultation on Concept Notes. Please email us at RabatGrants@state.gov and put AFCP in the subject line.
