U.S. Embassy Kingston Cultural Preservation Grant Opportunity

The U.S. Embassy is pleased to call for proposals for the 2016 U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP). The Fund was created by the U.S. Congress in 2001 and it aims to provide grant awards to preserve cultural heritage around the world, ranging from the renovation of historical monuments and restoration of artefacts to the documentation of traditional cultural expression.

Since its inception, the AFCP has given out over U.S. $12 million to support almost 500 projects worldwide, illustrating the commitment of the United States to help people and nations around the world save and safeguard their deep-rich cultural traditions. In establishing the fund, the U.S. Congress noted, “Cultural preservation offers an opportunity to show a different American face to other countries, one that is non-commercial, non-political, and non-military. By taking a leading role in efforts to preserve cultural heritage, we show our respect for other cultures.” Jamaican institutions consistently over perform in this global funding competition: over the last decade, we have funded a half dozen projects on-island, totally over U.S. $160,000.
For 2016, we are asking for proposals ranging from small grants – US$10,000 to US$150,000 – to large grants – US$200,000 to US$500,000. Project proposals can range from one to three years.

Past local grant-awards have been issued for several initiatives including the:

• Preservation of the Writings of Marcus Garvey – 2001
• Preventative Conservation of Taino Amulets and Other Ethnographic Objects at the Institute of Jamaica – 2004
• Conservation of the Collections of the National Gallery of Jamaica – 2006
• Restoration of Five Historic Paintings in the National Gallery of Jamaica – 2008
• Conservation of the Enos Nuttall Manuscripts Collection of the National Library of
Jamaica – 2009
• Preventive Conservation of the Collections of the National Museum of Jamaica – 2014

Purpose of Grant

The objective if the AFCP grant award is to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives and demonstrate American leadership in the preservation and protection of cultural heritage around the world.

In furtherance of this key objective, grant proposals for projects must meet one or more of the following criteria:

i. Directly support U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations, such as cultural property protection agreements;
ii. Support the preservation of inscribed World Heritage sites;
iii. Support risk reduction and disaster preparedness for cultural sites and collections in seismically active and other disaster-prone areas; and
iv. Engage women, youth, or under-served communities.