U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation

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Program Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2009: Total number of awards in Fiscal Year 2009 was 73. Fiscal Year 2010: Total number of awards in Fiscal Year 2010 is 63. Fiscal Year 2011: Estimated total number of awards in Fiscal Year 2010 is 60.

Uses and Use Restrictions

The U. S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation supports activities that contribute to the preservation of cultural sites, cultural objects and collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression (intangible heritage).

These activities may involve:

in the case of CULTURAL SITES, restoration of an historic building, an archaeological survey as a component of a preservation plan, preservation management planning for a site, or documentation of sites in a region for preservation purposes;

in the case of 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 purposes; the creation of safe environments for storage or display of collections; or specialized training in the preservation and protection of collections;

in the case of FORMS OF TRADITIONAL CULTURAL EXPRESSION, documentation and audiovisual recording of traditional music and dance forms for preservation and eventual dissemination, or support for training in the preservation of traditional arts or crafts that are threatened by extinction.

An appropriate preservation activity is one that protects the values of the site, object or collection, or form of traditional cultural expression as they are understood by stakeholders.

Stakeholders may include national, regional, or local cultural authorities, the local community, and others with vested interests in the site and the outcome of a project.

The U. S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation 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, etc.);
Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (books, periodicals, etc.);
Archaeological excavations or 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 collections for new or existing museums;
Construction of new buildings;
Commissions of new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes;
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 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 grant period and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund or otherwise spent over many years;
Costs of fund-raising campaigns;
Operating expenses, i.e.

expenses incurred during the day-to-day operational activities of an organization, such as office rent, utilities, license fees, and other costs for administrative time, services, or materials not directly related to performing project work;
Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous fees;
Costs of work performed prior to announcement of the award;
International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project;
Individual projects costing less than $10,000;
Awards to individuals or commercial entities.



As a general rule, the fund does not support independent U. S. projects abroad.

Discretionary funds: FY 2009: 100%; FY 2010: 100%.

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Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

The U.S.

Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation supports the preservation of cultural heritage in more than 130 eligible countries around the world.

Eligible entities may apply through U.S.

embassies for fund support for the preservation of cultural sites, cultural objects and collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression (intangible heritage).

Beneficiary Eligibility

Eligible countries in Fiscal Year 2010: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic of the), Congo (Republic of), Cote d Ivoire, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Credentials/Documentation

Proposal must include a letter or other document granting official permission to undertake the project. OMB Circular No. A-87 applies to this program.

Aplication and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Preapplication coordination is not applicable.

Environmental impact information is not required for this program.

This program is excluded from coverage under E.O.

12372.

Application Procedures

OMB Circular No. A-102 applies to this program. OMB Circular No. A-110 applies to this program. Organizations interested in applying for support from the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation must apply through the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in the country where the proposed project is to take place.

Award Procedures

Following submission through U.S. embassies, applications for support from the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation undergo a comprehensive screening, rating, ranking, and selection process. U.S. embassies announce award recipients.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines.

Authorization

Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (Fulbright-Hays Act), Public Law 87-256; Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, Public Law 87-195.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

From 120 to 180 days.

Appeals

Not Applicable.

Renewals

Not Applicable.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

Statutory formulas are not applicable to this program.
Matching requirements are not applicable to this program.
MOE requirements are not applicable to this program.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Maximum of 5 years. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: Assistance customarily released in three installments tied to project benchmarks.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Recipients are required to submit biannual progress reports covering the periods January-June and July-December for the duration of the project.

Recipients are required to submit final reports upon completion of projects.

Cash reports are not applicable.

Recipients are required to submit biannual progress reports covering the periods January-June and July-December for the duration of the project.

Recipients are required to submit final reports upon completion of projects.

Recipients are required to submit biannual financial reports covering the periods January-June and July-December for the duration of the project.

Recipients are required to submit final financial reports upon completion of projects.

Performance monitoring is not applicable.

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.

Records

Recipients are expected to retain records for a period of three years after the submission of the final expenditure report.

Financial Information

Account Identification

19-0000-0-0-000 - Varies by U.S. embassy.

Obigations

(Project Grants) FY 09 $5,228,000; FY 10 est $5,960,000; FY 11 est $2,000,000

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

Awards in Fiscal Year 2010 ranged from $10,000 to $850,000 with an average award amount of $94,603.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature

Not Applicable.

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

See Regional Agency Offices. For more information, contact the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. embassy in the country where the project is to take place.

Headquarters Office

Martin J. Perschler, ECA/P/C, SA-5, 5th Floor, Department of State, Washington, District of Columbia 20522-0505 Email: perschlermj@state.gov Phone: (202) 632-6308 Fax: (202) 632-6300.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Proposals are selected based on the criteria specified in the annual Request for Grant Proposals and based on proposal quality and project merit. Proposals may be deemed ineligible if they do not fully adhere to U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation program priorities, eligibility and proposal requirements, application procedures, and restrictions.