Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0007928
The FY 2021 Community Heritage Exchange Initiative (CHEI) is a U.S. Department of State grant opportunity run through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), specifically the Cultural Heritage Center (ECA/P/C). It funds a single cooperative agreement meant to help design and carry out a set of exchange programs that connect U.S. communities with overseas communities through the shared work of documenting, interpreting, and communicating cultural heritage. The initiative is framed as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), a long-running program that, over two decades, has supported more than a thousand preservation projects across 650+ communities in 133 countries. CHEI is one of three anniversary initiatives launched in 2021; two of them, including CHEI, are being implemented through cooperative agreements, and the Department issued separate announcements for CHEI and an AFCP Alumni Exchange.
At its core, CHEI is about strengthening relationships between Americans and international partners by focusing on the human stories around heritage sites, objects, and living cultural practices. Rather than treating preservation as only a technical or academic exercise, the program emphasizes the lived impact of heritage: how local people relate to these places and traditions, how preservation affects community identity and continuity, and what challenges communities face in sustaining heritage in real-world conditions. The initiative is also explicitly media-focused. It is designed to build practical skills and technical capacity for participants such as community representatives, filmmakers, and media specialists (both U.S. and foreign) so they can document heritage more effectively and share those stories with wider audiences.
Programmatically, CHEI is structured around five core exchange programs. These exchanges are meant to showcase selected AFCP-supported projects as case examples, intentionally spanning a range of heritage types (for example, different kinds of sites, collections, and cultural practices) and illustrating the complexity of preservation work worldwide. The goal is to use these AFCP project examples as learning platforms: participants explore not only what was preserved, but why it matters, who is affected, what tradeoffs exist, and how storytelling and media can make preservation more visible, understood, and supported. The exchanges are positioned to generate professional growth (skills and knowledge for media and heritage practitioners) while also creating durable cross-border community connections grounded in shared cultural heritage experiences.
From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement, meaning the Department of State expects to have substantial involvement in shaping or guiding the project as it is carried out, rather than simply issuing a grant with minimal federal participation. The opportunity number is SFOP0007928, and the relevant CFDA (assistance listing) is 19.451. The announcement anticipated one award with a ceiling of $1,000,000, indicating a single implementing organization would be selected to run the initiative at full program scale.
Eligibility is aimed at U.S.-based entities, with emphasis on organizations able to manage complex international exchange programming. Eligible applicants include U.S. nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status (both higher education and non-higher education nonprofits are included), public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, and private institutions of higher education, along with other entities as further clarified in the full notice. The opportunity was posted on April 7, 2021, with an original closing date of June 4, 2021, and it is administered by the Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
In practical terms, an applicant organization was being asked to propose how it would design and implement CHEI’s core exchanges, recruit and support participants, coordinate international and U.S. community engagement, and deliver the capacity-building elements for filmmakers and media specialists. The project’s outputs would likely include documented heritage stories and related media products, strengthened professional skills among participants, and new or deepened partnerships between U.S. and international communities connected through AFCP preservation work.Apply for SFOP0007928
- The Department of State, Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2021 Community Heritage Exchange Initiative" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.451.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 07, 2021.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 04, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (SFOP0007928) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| FY 2021 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation Alumni Exchange Apply for SFOP0007931 Funding Number: SFOP0007931 Agency: Department of State, Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $250,000 |
| U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa PAS Annual Program Statement Apply for PASAPSFY21 Funding Number: PASAPSFY21 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Ethiopia Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| Fiscal Transparency Innovation Fund Apply for NIGER FTIF FY2021 Funding Number: NIGER FTIF FY2021 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Niger Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $280,000 |
| FY 2021 Study of the U.S. Institutes for Student Leaders from Europe Apply for SFOP0007947 Funding Number: SFOP0007947 Agency: Department of State, Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $1,050,000 |
| FY 2021 Professional Fellows Program Apply for SFOP0007943 Funding Number: SFOP0007943 Agency: Department of State, Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $750,000 |
| FY 2021 Professional Fellows Congress Apply for SFOP0007945 Funding Number: SFOP0007945 Agency: Department of State, Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $925,000 |
| Women in Correctional Leadership Apply for 21PR06 Funding Number: 21PR06 Agency: Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $90,000 |
| Ambassador’s Special Self -Help Programme Apply for SSH MBA FY20 01 Funding Number: SSH MBA FY20 01 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Eswatini Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $9,000 |
| Arts and Activism Apply for SCAKAB 21 CA 004 SCA 04052021 Funding Number: SCAKAB 21 CA 004 SCA 04052021 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Afghanistan Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| FY 2021 English Access Microscholarship Program Apply for SFOP0007960 Funding Number: SFOP0007960 Agency: Department of State, Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $26,000,000 |
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| DRL Strengthening Democracy and Human Rights in Thailand Apply for SFOP0007971 Funding Number: SFOP0007971 Agency: Department of State, Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| New Anti-Corruption Support Activity Apply for 72012121RFI00001 Funding Number: 72012121RFI00001 Agency: Agency for International Development, Ukraine USAID-Kiev Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Defending Against Cyber-Enabled Intellectual Property (IP) Theft Apply for SFOP0007962 Funding Number: SFOP0007962 Agency: Department of State, Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| 2021 Media Professionalization Assistance Program Apply for 2021 FY20MEDIA PASPODGORICA Funding Number: 2021 FY20MEDIA PASPODGORICA Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Montenegro Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $70,000 |
| DRL Combating Corruption in the Northern Triangle Apply for SFOP0007841 Funding Number: SFOP0007841 Agency: Department of State, Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $740,740 |
| DRL Syrian Women’s Participation in Transitional Justice Processes Apply for SFOP0007883 Funding Number: SFOP0007883 Agency: Department of State, Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $987,654 |
| Defending Against Cyber-Enabled Intellectual Property (IP) Theft Apply for SFOP0008025 Funding Number: SFOP0008025 Agency: Department of State, Office of the Secretary Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| Emergency Management Performance Grant Program - American Rescue Plan Act (EMPG-ARPA) - Region 2 Apply for DHS 21 GPD 042 02 02 Funding Number: DHS 21 GPD 042 02 02 Agency: Department of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security - FEMA Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Emergency Management Performance Grant Program - American Rescue Plan Act (EMPG-ARPA) - Region 1 Apply for DHS 21 GPD 042 01 02 Funding Number: DHS 21 GPD 042 01 02 Agency: Department of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security - FEMA Category: Other (see text field entitled Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity for clarification) Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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