CALL FOR PROPOSALS #14 – ACF
SOFACO – BATCH 5: STRUCTURING OF CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING APPLICATIONS
Africa has faced many challenges in recent years, including the COVID-19 pandemic and political and global economic crises, which have particularly affected the artistic and cultural sector. These challenges have led to the closure of several cultural organizations, plunging these entities into a precarious situation. In this context, it is crucial to put in place aid and support mechanisms to maintain the vitality of the African cultural sector and to accompany cultural organizations during this period of transition.
In response to this challenge, the African Culture Fund (ACF) is launching a fifth call for proposals specifically dedicated to cultural organizations, within the framework of the Solidarity Fund for Artists and Cultural Organizations in Africa (SOFACO). The main aim of this initiative is to provide financial support to African cultural organizations affected by the above-mentioned devastating consequences.
This new call for proposals aims to encourage restructuring and strengthen the resilience of cultural organizations at this critical time. The funding allocated will enable them to continue their creative activities, develop new projects and maintain an income in an uncertain economic climate. In addition, these initiatives will help preserve the socio-economic structure of Africa’s already fragile cultural sector.
African cultural organizations are invited to submit innovative, high-impact proposals that reflect the diversity and cultural richness of the continent. The selection process will be transparent and rigorous, ensuring a fair distribution of resources to the most relevant and promising projects.
In these times of crisis, it is crucial to recognize the vital role played by culture in the resilience of societies. The African Culture Fund is committed to supporting African cultural organizations in their restructuring process, and to promoting the continent’s cultural vitality, even under the most complex challenges.
GENERAL CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY
- Eligibility of Applicants
- Geographic coverage
- Application selection procedure
- Criteria for evaluating proposals
- Funding terms and conditions
- Indicative timeline
- How to apply ?
To be eligible, cultural organizations must meet the following conditions:
- Being a cultural organization with at least three (03) years of legal and functional experience, operating and residing in Africa;
- Having legal status ;
- Providing the biography of the head of the organization and the organizational chart of the structure;
- Providing the organization’s most recent activity report (narrative and financial) ;
- Presenting a structuring project ;
- Providing a letter of recommendation or a certificate of successful completion from at least one reference organization in the cultural and creative sector ;
- Undertaking to provide a narrative and financial report at the end of your project.
For this fifth SOFACO batch, ACF is supporting applications in the following project categories:
- Category 1: Creation/production of quality goods and services at a competitive cost, and in greater quantity as part of a professionalization process.
- Category 2: Access to national, regional and international markets, circulation/diffusion/promotion of goods and services as widely as possible.
Geographical coverage and maximum grant amount
This call covers all countries on the African continent.
The maximum budget granted by ACF for any application under this call for proposals is 5,000 (Five thousand) Euros per cultural organization.
Funding covers a period of between 6 months minimum and 12 months maximum.
The application selection procedure comprises six (06) steps:
- Recording and filing ;
- Administrative review of applications;
- Evaluation by the Selection Committee (Jury);
- Approval of the list of selected projects;
- Reception and analysis of administrative documents from selected organizations;
- Approval of funding allocation.
Applications will be evaluated by an independent selection committee made up of professionals working in the African cultural sector and familiar with the artistic realities in the various African regions.
The selection committee evaluates applications according to four (04) criteria:
- Originality / innovation / creativity of the project or concept ;
- Technical quality of the application;
- Financial quality of the project;
- Relevance to the current African or regional context
ACF will sign a contract with the grant recipient, which will include information on the activities to be carried out, the amount of the grant, payment terms and reporting.
Approved projects will be funded in a single instalment:
- 100% of the grant, once the contract has been signed
Activities | Deadline |
Start of announcement | March 11, 2024 |
Deadline for submission of proposals | April 15, 2024 |
Candidates must complete the form in full, available for download at the following link: https://www.africanculturefund.net/en/APPLICATION-FORM_CALL-14.docx
They must then save the completed form in PDF format and send it to the African Culture Fund at the following 2 e-mail addresses:
Applications may be submitted in English or French.
The deadline for submission of proposals is April 15, 2024 at 23H59mn GMT.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Results will be posted on the ACF website and social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram)
The ACF will contact only the selected organizations. They will then have to provide all the administrative documents mentioned above.