U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation Grants Program

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

·       CULTURAL SITES: This might include (but is not limited to) historical buildings and sites, sacred places, monuments, and archaeological sites. Proposals in this category may involve, for example, 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.

·       CULTURAL OBJECTS AND COLLECTIONS: from a museum, cultural site, or similar institution. This includes archaeological and ethnographic objects, paintings, sculpture, manuscripts, photographic and film collections, and general museum conservation activities. Proposals in this category may involve, for example, 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 care and preservation of collections.

·       FORMS OF TRADITIONAL CULTURAL EXPRESSION: This includes traditional music, rituals, knowledge, languages, dance, drama, and crafts. Proposal in this category may involve documenting and audiovisual recording of traditional music and dance forms as part of a tradition expression and making the information and recordings available, or support for training in preservation or traditional arts or crafts that are threatened by extinction.

AFCP Program Objectives:

AFCP was established to help countries preserve cultural heritage and to demonstrate U.S. respect for other cultures. The aim is to preserve cultural sites or objects that have an historical or cultural significance to the cultural heritage of Brazil. 

AFCP gives top priority to project activities in keeping with international standards for the preservation of cultural heritage. 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.

Mission Brazil Objectives:

In the 2024 funding cycle, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Brazil will give preference to projects that focus on one of more of the following three areas: the preservation of culture that is affected by the climate crisis; Afro-descendent culture in Brazil; the culture of indigenous peoples in Brazil.

Competition Format: 

The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Brazil will select proposals through a two-part process. Applicants must first submit a concept note, which is a concise, 3-page concept note designed to clearly communicate a program idea and its objectives before the development of a full proposal application. The purpose of the Concept Note process is to give candidates the opportunity to present program ideas to the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Brazil for evaluation before the submission of full proposal applications becomes required. Selected applicants will be extended invitations by U.S. Mission Embassy and Consulates in Brazil to convert their concept notes into comprehensive proposal applications following to a review of such notes.