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Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation

Call for proposals

Summary
The Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) invites the cultural and educational institutions of El Salvador to send proposals seeking the preservation of the Salvadoran cultural heritage.

The AFCP seeks the protection of the cultural heritage of the whole world. The Salvadoran proposals will enter a global competition; therefore there is no guarantee that the Salvadoran proposals will receive a grant.

The available funds per Project are from $10,000 to $50,000 dollars to be invested in a performance period of a year.

Guidelines

  • Dates to receive project proposals:   October Monday 19th until december, Tuesday 8th, 2009 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
  • Venue to deliver project proposals:  Proposals should be sent or delivered to this address:  Oficina de Asuntos Públicos, Embajada de Estados Unidos, Final Bulevar Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlán.
  • Format to deliver the projects:  A paper copy and a digital copy in CD ROM must be submitted to participate.  Projects sent via e-mail won’t be considered.
  • Addressee:  The projects should be addressed to Carolyn Turpin, Cultural Attaché of the US Embassy.
  • Who may apply:  Any cultural institution undergoing or planning preservation projects of the Salvadoran Cultural Heritage.  Projects submitted by individuals won’t be accepted.  Previous winners of the AFCP can apply again for either new projects or the next phases of the project financed previously.

Conditions:

  • The proposals won’t be considered if they don’t contain the required information.
  • The proposals won’t be considered if the embassy just receives a hard copy in paper.

Questions:
Any question related to the AFCP can be submitted to Verónica Vásquez, cultural assistant of the US Embassy to vasquezvm@state.gov 


The proposals should contain:

Title

Descriptive title- No more than 10 words

Purpose and summary of the proposal

In 50 words or less. It has to answer the following questions: What is the objective? What is the nature of the cultural resource? What is the problem that affects it and what is the expected result?

Detailed Description of the project

The description of the project should not exceed a thousand words and should contain the following:

  • It should answer the question: what kind of heritage resource is going to be protected? (For example: archeological or historical site, archeological or historical building, collection or documental archive, historical manuscripts, museum objects or collections, traditional music, language in danger of extinction, traditional dance, traditional rituals).
  • Description of the activities proposed by the project and its objectives: The question that should be answered is: what kind of activity is proposed to achieve the protection of this cultural heritage element? (For example: planning a study and/or inventory; training of those protecting the cultural heritage element; digitalization; restoration; preventive conservation; rescue excavation; buying of equipment or materials for the preservation process).
  • Description of the cultural importance of the site, collection, object to be preserved or the form of cultural expression. Also how it relates to the history, development, and cultural heritage of El Salvador. 
  • Time line of activities. Which are the approximate start and end dates of the project. Sequence of activities.
  • A complete description of the work to be done: objectives, tasks, methods, previous related actions. Why it is necessary, what actions have been done, the context in which the work proposed will be done, bibliography, etc.). Where the heritage resource is located and where the project will be done (description of the site).

Significance
and urgency of
the project

Description of the cultural / artistic / historical significance of the resource that the project will protect. Is the resource facing an immediate threat, such as possible physical collapse or possible loss of cultural memory?

Letter of approval to do the project

Official permission to do the project from the local or national authority
responsible of the resource or site. The letter should certify the approval
of the project and the sponsorship from the entity or agency officially
responsible of the administration of the cultural heritage element that is
going to be preserved.

Information on the institution proposing the project

Information on the organization presenting the project and of the people who are doing the work.

  • On the institution: its mission, officers, and its history as a reliable recipient of donations (if applicable). Projects by individuals won’t be accepted.
  • On the people involved in the project: resume.
  • DUNS Number.  The guidelines to obtain it are in the US Embassy web page at http://sansalvador.usembassy.gov/

Detailed
budget in
dollars

The proposal should be presented in dollars and if possible in a MS Excell work sheet.

The costs should be categorized as follows (the ones that apply):
a) Consumables, materials and resources;
b) Rental and buying of electronic equipment and tools;
c) Honoraria for the personnel who will execute the project;
d) Trips for key personnel of the project.

The budget should indicate the total of the four sub categories. 

Please indicate other sources of funding, if they exist.

Attachments

Photographs of the resource that is going to be protected through the project.

Background: In 2001, The Cultural and Educational Affairs Office of the Department of State received from the U.S. Congress the commission to promote the AFCP, which offers U.S. Ambassadors the opportunity of financing projects to preserve the cultural heritage of countries where the United States has diplomatic presence. Funds available go from $10,000 to $50,000. The U.S. government cooperates this way to show its respect for other cultures and traditions. In 2004, the Cultural Patrimony Association of Santa Ana (APACULSA) won the AFCP to complete the second stage of restoration of the Santa Ana Cathedral. In 2005, the National Museum of Anthropology won the award to preserve the archeological artifacts that are located in the deposits. 2007 gave the AFCP to IZALCUTUR received the award to restore 16th to 19th Centuries’ wooden sculptures from Izalco.  In 2008, the Museum of Art of El Salvador received the award for the Registration, Documentation, Handling and Conservation of the Museum of Art collection.  In 2009, the Secretariat of Culture is undergoing the project to map, research, and conserve the “El Espíritu Santo Cave” rock art site, thanks to the AFCP grant.

Guide to present projects:

  • Cultural site or sites. Includes but is not limited to: preservation of a historical or archeological site, sacred site or monument; archeological research when this is part of a preservation plan of the site; design of a management plan for the preservation of an archeological site or sites in a region; documentation of a site or sites of a region with preservation as an objective.
  • A object or collection or artifacts of an archeological site, museum or similar institution. Includes but is not limited to: conservation of an object or collection of objects; inventory of a collection of objects with purpose of preservation creation of an adequate space or conditions for storing or exhibition of a collection of objects; or specialized training for the care or preservation of collections.
  • Traditional forms of cultural expression. Includes but is not limited to: recording of music or forms of traditional dance; compilation of a dictionary of languages in extinction; recording of oral history or traditional poetry; training in the preservation of arts or traditional crafts that are threaten of extinction.

Projects that won’t be considered as part of the AFCP

  • Projects of conservation of natural heritage
  • Conservation or buying of private collections or of commercial or residential properties.
  • Construction of new buildings or reconstruction of a historical building. Funds will be granted only for restoration of existing architectonic patrimony.

Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) DUNS number

The organizations that apply for grants need to provide the Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) DUNS number of the organization.  This is a unique nine-digit identifier that identifies an organization. The organizations must have a different DUNS number for each physical location/address.

The Public Affairs Office cannot get this number for third parties, so please follow these instructions below and provide the DUNS number along with your application for funding.

Procedure to obtain de DUNS number

Domestic Organizations
Organizations located in the U.S. that apply for or receive Federal assistance can request a DUNS number free of charge by contacting D&B through either a web-form or telephone.  The web-form is available at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.  For organizations located in the U.S., D&B can be contacted at 1-866-705-5711.  Registration typically takes five to ten minutes by phone and up to 24 hours via the web-form.

Information needed to obtain a DUNS number from D&B

  • Legal Name
  • Tradestyle, Doing Business As (DBA), or other name by which the organization is commonly recognized
  • Physical Address, City, State and Zip Code
  • Mailing Address (if separate)
  • Telephone Number
  • Contact Name
  • Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code
    • To find the SIC code that best matches your organization go to  http://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/sicsearch.html and search the database
    • If the organization is a non-profit and does not seem to fit any of the categories listed, the SIC code 8999 (Services, not elsewhere classified) can serve.
  • Number of Employees at the location
  • Headquarters name and address (if there is a reporting relationship to a parent corporate entity)
  • Whether the organization is a home-based business.

Registration Issues
Obtaining a DUNS number places the organization on D&B’s marketing list that is sold to other companies. The organization can request not to be added to this list during the application process or subsequently.  The applicant organization should limit its request to a DUNS designation only.  Requests for additional services from D&B are not free of charge.

Issues have been reported with the registration process concerning additional requirements or payment requests by the D&B provider.  Any additional services offered during the registration process are not necessary and the applicant is under no obligation to sign up for them.  Most of the issues reported have been experienced by foreign applicants registering via telephone through the country’s D&B affiliate office.  As described above, a representative from the organization must register for a DUNS number; U.S.G. employees cannot obtain a DUNS number for the organization.  If an applicant is required by a D&B office to pay for a DUNS number designation or other issues arise with the registration, the Grants Officer should contact the current point of contact for “DUNS Issues” available under the “Areas of Expertise” section on A/OPE/FA’s webpage at: http://aopefa.a.state.gov.

If any issues arise during the request process of the DUNS, please contact the Cultural Assistant at the US Embassy at (503) 2501-2390 or the administrator of the Public Affairs Office, Hilda Guerra at 2501-2479.