2020 Small Grants Competition
🏛 U.S. Mission to Egypt
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Jul 15, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for organizations seeking to preserve cultural sites, objects, collections, and traditional cultural expression worldwide. Eligible applicants are nonprofits, educational institutions, cultural organizations, and government entities that have not received prior AFCP awards without completing required reporting. Individuals and commercial entities are ineligible. Projects must focus on conservation, documentation, or training related to cultural heritage preservation and advance U.S. diplomatic or treaty interests.
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Key dates
- Dec 2, 2019 Applications open
- Dec 5, 2019 Application deadline
- Jun 30, 2020 Award announced
- Sep 30, 2020 Project start
Program description
The Cultural Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo is now accepting project abstracts for the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) 2020 Large Grants Competition. AFCP Large Grants range from a floor of $200,000 to a maximum of $800,000 per project.
The deadline for submitting abstracts is December 5, 2019. Guidelines for the Small Grants Competition will be published separately.
The AFCP Large Grant competition is a competition between projects from all eligible countries for funding and five to 10 projects will be funded worldwide. If, following the technical review, rating, and ranking of abstracts, projects from Egypt are invited to advance to Round 2, the Cultural Office will work with selected applicants to submit full project proposals no later than January 21, 2020.
All applications should be submitted electronically to CairoAFCP@state.gov. No hard copies will be accepted. Failure to include any of the required information results in the automatic exclusion of the proposal.
INELIGIBLE PROJECT APPLICANTS:
AFCP does not award grants to individuals, commercial entities, or to embassies or past award recipients which have not fulfilled the reporting requirements of previous AFCP awards.
FUNDING AREAS:
The AFCP 2020 Small Grants Competition supports the preservation of cultural sites, cultural objects and collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression. Appropriate project activities may include:
a) In the case of cultural sites: conservation of an ancient or historic building, preservation of an archaeological site, or documentation of cultural sites in a region for preservation purposes.
b) In the case of cultural objects and collections: conservation needs assessments and treatment, 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.
c) In the case of forms of traditional cultural expression: documentation and audiovisual recording of traditional music, indigenous languages and dance forms for broad dissemination as the means of teaching and further preserving them, or support for training in the preservation of traditional applied arts or crafts in danger of extinction.
FUNDING PRIORITIES:
Applications for projects that do one or more of the following will receive additional consideration in FY 2020:
A. Support U.S. treaty or bilateral agreement obligations.
B. Support disaster risk reduction for cultural heritage in disaster-prone areas.
C. Support post-disaster cultural heritage recovery.
D. Preserve World Heritage sites.
E. Partner, connect with or feed into other ECA programs.
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. ECA encourages embassies considering preservation projects with a religious connection to contact the AFCP Program Director.
INELIGIBILE ACTIVITIES AND UNALLOWABLE COSTS:
AFCP does NOT support the following activities or costs, and applications involving any of the activities or costs below will be deemed ineligible:
a) 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 application
b) Preservation of natural heritage (e.g., physical, biological, and geological formations, paleontological collections, habitats of threatened species of animals and plants, fossils )
c) Preservation of hominid or human remains
d) Preservation of news media (e.g., newspapers, newsreels, radio and TV programs)
e) Preservation of published materials available elsewhere (e.g., books, periodicals)
f) Development of curricula or educational materials for classroom use
g) Archaeological excavations or exploratory surveys for research purposes
h) Historical research, except in cases where the research is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project
i) Acquisition or creation of new exhibits, objects, or collections for new or existing museums
j) Construction of new buildings, building additions, or permanent coverings (over archaeological sites, for example)
k) Commissions of new works of art or architecture for commemorative or economic development purposes
l) Creation of new or the modern adaptation of existing traditional dances, songs, chants, musical compositions, plays, or other performances
m) Creation of replicas or conjectural reconstructions of cultural objects or sites that no longer exist
n) Relocation of cultural sites from one physical location to another
o) Removal of cultural objects or elements of cultural sites from the country for any reason
p) Digitization of cultural objects or collections, unless part of a larger, clearly defined conservation or documentation effort
q) Conservation plans or other studies, unless they are one component of a larger project to implement the results of those studies
r) Cash reserves, endowments, or revolving funds (funds must be expended within the award period [up to five years] and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund)
s) Costs of fund-raising campaigns
t) Contingency, unforeseen, or miscellaneous costs or fees
u) Costs of work performed prior to announcement of the award unless allowable per 2 CFR 200.458 and approved by the Grants Officer
v) International travel, except in cases where travel is justifiable and integral to the success of the proposed project
w) Travel or study outside the host country for professional development
x) Individual projects costing less than US $10,000 or more than $200,000
y) Independent U.S. projects overseas
Please download the the complete guidelines and requirements from the Embassy’s website
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- Project abstract (Round 1)
- Full project proposal (Round 2, if selected)
- Project budget and justification
- Organizational background and credentials
- Evidence of prior successful cultural preservation projects
- Letters of support from host country or partner organizations
Program contact
- 👤 Dina Abdelhafez Cultural Affairs Specialist
- 📧 abdelhafezdh@state.gov
- 📞 01286674862
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 19.025 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$1,600,000
-
$1,597,277
-
$695,000
-
$556,467
-
$500,000
-
$500,000
-
$475,299
-
$472,163
-
$460,000
-
$450,000
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 19.025). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $7,116,000 | |
| 2025 | $3,197,000 | |
| 2026 est. | $6,000,000 |
FAQ
Who cannot apply for AFCP funding?
Individuals, commercial entities, and past award recipients who haven't completed reporting requirements are ineligible. Embassies also cannot apply.
What is the deadline and project duration?
The abstract deadline is December 5, 2019. Full proposals are due January 21, 2020 if selected. Project duration is typically 18-24 months.
What types of activities can receive funding?
Eligible activities include site conservation, archaeological documentation, collection assessment and treatment, safe storage/display creation, and documentation of traditional music, languages, and crafts.
How competitive is this grant?
Very competitive. Only 5-10 projects worldwide are funded in each round. International competition is intense.
What is the funding range?
Grants range from $200,000 to $800,000 per project. No cost-sharing is required.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Align your project with AFCP priority areas: disaster risk reduction, post-disaster recovery, World Heritage sites, or bilateral agreements.
- For religious sites, emphasize architectural, artistic, and historical significance rather than religious value.
- Submit electronically to CairoAFCP@state.gov; incomplete applications are automatically rejected.
- Use the two-round process strategically: the abstract (Round 1) must be compelling, then develop a detailed full proposal if selected.
- Document how your project advances U.S. cultural diplomacy or supports treaty obligations for competitive advantage.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications lacking clear alignment with AFCP priorities are rejected at the abstract stage. Incomplete submissions missing required information are automatically disqualified. Projects with religious focus that don't emphasize cultural (non-religious) significance face rejection.
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