Cultural Heritage Without Borders Albania

Cultural Heritage Without Borders Albania is a nonprofit organization based in Tirana, Albania, that serves as a prime recipient of federal cultural heritage and anti-trafficking grants from the U.S. Department of State, with all seven awards in the source data issued under full-and-open solicitation rather than set-asides.

The organization's federal footprint centers entirely on cultural preservation and heritage protection work in Albania, funded by two State Department bureaus. The Department of State Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs has issued five awards supporting heritage site development and community engagement at Albania's Drino Valley Monasteries; the Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has issued two awards focused on capacity-building and law-enforcement cooperation to combat illicit trafficking of Albanian cultural heritage at the archaeological sites of Apollonia, Byllis, and Antigonea. Representative work includes a $399,600 Phase II grant awarded October 1, 2026, under the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (CFDA 19.025) to develop an economically sustainable model for heritage preservation and transform the Drino Valley Monasteries site into a functional, inclusive space serving local residents and visitors through December 31, 2028. A prior $399,600 Phase I award under the same fund (October 1, 2023, completed February 28, 2025) supported heritage preservation and tourism-development modeling at the same monastery complexes. An October 1, 2024, grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs addressed capacity-building and law-enforcement cooperation to combat illicit trafficking at the three archaeological sites.

Activity is sparse and episodic — one award in 2021, no recorded awards in 2022, then single awards in 2023, 2024, and 2026 — with combined dollars obligated across seven awards totaling $1.8 million. The organization holds no position on government-wide vehicles, IDIQs, or BPAs, and operates exclusively as a prime recipient on State Department grants. All work is performed in Albania under the umbrella of the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation and related cultural-affairs programs.