NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO) 

2024 AMBASSADORS FUND FOR CULTURAL PRESERVATION 

(ROUND 1) 

The U.S. Embassy in Amman, with the Cultural Heritage Center (“the Center”) in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State, is pleased to announce the start of the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) 2024 Grants Program.  

The AFCP Grants Program supports the preservation of archaeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, museum collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression, such as indigenous languages and crafts.  AFCP projects strengthen civil society, encourage good governance, and promote political and economic stability around the world.   

A. AWARD INFORMATION:  

Funding Opportunity Title: U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation Grants Program 

Funding Opportunity Number: AFCP-2024-GP 

CFDA Number (Federal Assistance Listing): 19.025 

Funding Instrument Type:  Grant, Cooperative Agreement  

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

Ceiling on Amount of Individual Awards: US $500,000 per project 

Cost Sharing: Allowed, and there is no minimum or maximum percentage of cost participation required for this competition.  Cost sharing may be in the form of allowable direct or indirect costs. 

Length of Performance Period: 12 to 60 months 

This notice is subject to availability of Fiscal Year 2024 funds.  

B. 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) 

 FUNDING RESTRICTIONS: 

AFCP does NOT support the following:   

• 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. 
• 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 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 re-creation 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 announcement of the award unless allowable per 2 CFR 200.458 and approved by the grants officer.
• International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project.
• Travel or study for professional development.
• Individual projects costing less than $10,000 or more than $ 500,000.
• Independent U.S. Projects overseas that do not have a local partner or a pre-existing formal agreement with the national cultural authority in the specified country to conduct cultural heritage preservation activities.  

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 

The following foreign and U.S. organizations are eligible to apply:  

Foreign Institution 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)); and U.S. Institution of Higher Education.  The AFCP further defines eligible applicants are reputable and accountable entities that can demonstrate that they have the requisite capacity and permission to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage in the specified country.

D. FUNDING PRIORITIES:  The most successful AFCP projects have been designed as part of a greater PD programming arc promoting specific U.S. policy goals and host-country or community goals.  Accordingly, in Fiscal Year 2024, ECA will prioritize projects that do one or more of the following: 

•          Directly support U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations. 
•          Directly support U.S. policies, strategies, and objectives as stated in the National Security Strategy, Integrated Country Strategy , or other U.S. government planning documents. 
•          Support risk reduction and resilience for cultural heritage in disaster-prone or politically and economically unstable areas, or post-disaster cultural heritage recovery. 
•          Complement other ECA or public diplomacy programs. 
•          Are conducted in an eligible country that has not previously received an AFCP award.

E. HOW TO APPLY: The application process will proceed in two rounds.  In Round 1, project ideas from applicants will be accepted in the form of concept notes, due by December 31, 2023.   In Round 2, those with promising ideas will be asked to submit full project applications sometime in early Spring 2024. Concept notes should be in English and the budget must be in US dollars. 

Please submit concept notes for Round 1 to AmmanAFCPgrants@state.gov. 

https://jo.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/AFCP-Concept-Note-Sample-Format.docx

By Close of Business Day 4:30 P.M. December 31, 2023.  Concept notes should include the required information below (alternatively you may use the attached suggested concept note template):   

1. Project Title 
2. Location of project.
3. Implementer name and address.
4. Funding Priority (see section D above)
5. Estimated cost
6. Time Frame (months), the maximum allowed time is up to 60 months
7. Summarize the project’s preservation activities and goals (not more than 1,000 characters)
8. Summarize any related host country or community goals (not more than 1,000 characters)
9. Briefly describe any anticipated strategic outreach activities to build awareness and engage communities and stakeholders (not more than 1,000 characters)
10. Attach five high quality digital images (JPEG) or audiovisual files that convey the nature and condition of the site, collection or tradition and show the urgency or need for the proposed project (collapsing walls, water damage, etc.) 

 This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is also available worldwide on Grants.gov.   

   grants.gov/search-results-detail/350724 

Required Registrations: All organizations, whether based in the U.S. or in another country, must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and an active registration in the System for Award Management (https://SAM.gov).  Registration in https://SAM.gov is free. You may require additional registrations, such as an EIN or NCAGE code, depending on your location and whether you plan to business with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). 

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): A Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is one of the data elements mandated by Public Law 109-282, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), for all Federal awards.  The UEI replaced the DUNS numbering system in April 2022.  To get a UEI, go to https://SAM.gov and follow the instructions for getting a Unique Entity ID.   

Employer Identification Number (EIN): If you are an organization based in the U.S. or if you pay employees within the U.S., you will need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and UEI prior to registering in SAM.gov.  If you are an organization based outside of the U.S. and you do not pay employees within the U.S., you do no need an EIN from the IRS. 

NOTE: The process of obtaining or renewing a SAM.gov registration may take between 4-8 weeks.  Begin the process as early as possible. 

 G. DISCLAIMER

Issuance of this funding opportunity does not constitute an award commitment on the part pf the AFCP program or the U.S. government.  The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs reserves the right to waive program formalities and to reduce, revise, or increase application budgets and award amounts in accordance with the needs of the AFPC program and the availability of FY2024 funds.  

By U.S. Mission Jordan | 14 November, 2023 | Topics: News