The Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the Embassy of the United States of America in South Africa invites interested non-profit organizations, public international organizations, and private, public, or state institutions of higher education in South Africa and the United States to submit abstracts for Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation projects in accordance with the specifications outlined below. Please review all information in this announcement prior to submitting applications or questions.

The Department of State established the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural preservation (AFCP) at the request of the Congress in Conference Report 106-1005 accompanying H.R. 4942 (October 26, 2000). The projects recommended for funding under this program shall advance U.S. foreign policy goals and demonstrate American leadership in the preservation and protection of cultural heritage in support of prosperity and stability around the world. Click here for additional information.

There are no applicant administrative nor service provider fees associated with submitting applications under this announcement.

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Competition Format

This opportunity consists of two application rounds: Round 1 (Project Abstract) and Round 2 (Full Application). During Round 1, applicants shall submit project abstracts to the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria. If, after the technical review, rating, and ranking of abstracts, the Department of State invites an applicant to advance to Round 2, the applicants will be invited to submit a full project application to the Embassy. Past AFCP award recipients may submit applications for continuation funds under this opportunity.

Funding Areas

The AFCP Large Grants Program supports the preservation of major ancient archaeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, and major museum collections that are accessible to the public and protected by law in the host country. Appropriate project activities may include:

• Preventive conservation (addressing conditions that damage or threaten the site)
• Stabilization (reducing the physical disturbance [settling, collapse, etc.] of a site)
• Conservation (addressing damage or deterioration to a collection or sites)
• Consolidation (connecting or reconnecting elements of a site)
• Anastylosis (reassembling a site from its original parts)
• Restoration (replacing missing elements to recreate the original appearance of a site, usually appropriate only with fine arts, decorative arts, and historic buildings)

Applications for projects that directly support one or more of the following will receive additional consideration in FY 2019:

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

Special Note

Regarding Sites and Objects that have 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 on the basis of architectural, artistic, historical, or other cultural (not religious) criteria.

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