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Cultural Corner

U.S. Embassy Zagreb Cultural Grants Program

The goal of the Embassy's Cultural Grants Program is both to share the richness and diversity of American culture with Croatians and also to support cultural dialog and partnership between American and Croatian artists through visits of Americans to Croatia.  Grants may be awarded to individuals, groups and organizations for artistic and cultural performances, exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and readings that further these goals. Grants are awarded to individuals, groups, and organizations whose presentations convey the richness and diversity of American culture.

The Embassy is looking for projects with outstanding artistic, cultural, and educational merits. In deciding which projects to support, the Embassy will consider many factors including, but not limited to:

  • artistic merit of the project based on references, awards or other accolades
  • degree to which project is characteristic of distinctly American cultural traditions
  • degree to which project introduces new aspects of American culture in Croatia
  • ability of project to define its target audience clearly
  • likelihood of attracting larger audiences or justification for projects involving smaller audiences
  • plans to conduct multiple events to maximize impact of visiting artists
  • reaching out to audiences of particular interest including youth and opinion leaders
  • reaching out to under-served areas in Croatia that traditionally have less exposure to American culture
  • reputation and experience of Croatian partner organizations
  • cost sharing from grantee or other funders
  • plan to recognize support from the American Embassy in program materials and advertising
  • media plan to multiply the impact of visiting artists
  • demonstration of need for US Embassy funding
  • significance of the project for Croatia

Typically, cultural grants range from $100 to $5,000, but may exceed this amount for projects of special interest.
Proposals should be in the form of a written narrative in English, and must include the following information:

  1. Name of the organization, address, phone/fax number/e-mail address, name and title of director and/or other staff members involved in the project. Applicants should also attach a CV, resume or personal history of the people who will be engaged in the project and for those U.S. citizens involved in the project. No CV should exceed one page.
  2. Background information on the applicant and/or the organization.
  3. please list other donors and amounts for this project. Please include all previous grants from the U.S. Government.
  4. Program Description. What is the nature of the performance/event/project? The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with it would understand exactly what the applicant wants to do. The more specific, detailed, and clear the program description, the better, but please do not exceed one page.
  5. Project Justification. This is a very important aspect of the proposal and applicants should pay particular attention to the factors above.  Not every factor will be relevant in each proposal, but successful proposals will have included compelling responses to several factors. Please do not exceed one page.
  6. Description of the audience. Who is your target audience? How many people will attend/view/hear the proposed performance/event/project?
  7. Proposed dates and venues. Please include precise dates, times, and locations of performances or events planned.
  8. Budget. Please use the following categories to present your budget request:
    Personnel
    Fringe Benefits
    Travel
    Equipment
    Supplies
    Contractual
    Construction
    Other Direct Cost
    Total Direct Cost
    Indirect Cost
    Total Costs
    Cost-sharing
    In order to be sure that the Embassy understands why there is a need for money, the applicant should also prepare a detailed, line-by-line list of expenses that will be generated by this project and which expenses the applicant is requesting the Embassy to cover. Please provide a total budget of the project and include other donors.

Please note that Embassy cultural grants CAN NOT be used to fund religious organizations or partisan political activity; humanitarian or charitable activities; conferences and individual trips abroad; trade activities; fundraising campaigns; commercial projects; scientific research; projects aiming only at primary institutional development of the organization; or representational expenses (lunch, alcoholic beverages, etc.).
Proposals may be submitted electronically to the email address: paicn@state.gov at any time and they will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Grant proposals should include all of the information requested in the application guidelines. Proposals will not be considered until all information is received. Proposals must be in English or accompanied by an English translation. Budgets must be calculated in U.S. dollars. Supporting documents may be in Croatian. Applicants are advised to submit applications 2-3 months before a response is needed.  Projects with shorter deadlines may be considered, but preference is given to those who apply in advance.  Questions should be addressed to Nikolina Paic, phone #: +385 (0)1 661 2240 or paicn@state.gov .