Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) Registration

PVOs are important partners in USAID's work to address a broad range of development, humanitarian and health challenges.
PVOs are important partners in USAID's work to address a broad range of development, humanitarian and health challenges, leveraging significantly more resources than they receive from USAID.
Catholic Relief Services
UPDATE ON PVO REGISTRATION

Overview of Changes to PVO Registration

Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs) no longer need to register with USAID before participating in most programs. PVO registration is still legislatively required for the following two USAID programs as a condition of eligibility:

For these two programs USAID will use a simplified self-certification form as part of the registration process.

USAID is changing its registration processes for Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs).  Going forward, PVOs will only be required to register for the Limited Excess Property Program (LEPP) and the Ocean Freight Reimbursement (OFR) Program. This will be accomplished through a more streamlined process involving completion of a self-certification form as part of the application process for these programs.

PVOs can now apply for any grant program in the Agency, aside from LEPP and OFR,  without going through an annual registration process. PVOs will still be required to meet any conditions USAID deems necessary for the award of grants or cooperative agreements, which may include the completion of a financial audit.

To implement these changes, USAID will propose the rescission of 22 CFR 203 of the Code of Federal Regulations. There will be a thirty-day open comment period when the general public can express their views on this proposed change.

USAID greatly values the role PVOs play in international development and in achieving our Agency’s development objectives. The goal of these changes is to simplify our processes, reduce the administrative burden on PVOs, and make it easier to do business with the USAID.  

Partnering with the Agency

Listed below are a number of useful references that will answer questions regarding ways to partner with USAID and find grant opportunities:

  • For anticipated future opportunities, the USAID Business Forecast provides potential funding and partnership opportunities. We also encourage following @USAIDBizOpps on Twitter for the latest USAID business and partnership opportunities.
  • Please visit our webpage on How to Work With USAID for general information on how to partner with USAID and USAID funding.
  • Organizations and individuals interested in partnering with USAID can visit our website for information regarding current Partnership Opportunities. 
  • For a more in-depth explanation of USAID funding and to explore opportunities to work with USAID, we suggest you visit our webpage on USAID’s grant and contract process.
  • We also recommend that you take advantage of our training module, Exploring Opportunities to Partner with USAID.  This training module outlines a four-step work plan for those interested in exploring opportunities with USAID, provides information on the types of funding available, and advice on how to best to position yourself or your organization to work with USAID. Additional training that may be of interest can be found on our Training Series page.
  • The USAID website is not a comprehensive source of information for all available partnership and funding opportunities with the Agency. We encourage you to review postings on www.grants.gov and FedBizOpps.gov. Both sites provide the option to search opportunities by agency. We are listed as “Agency for International Development.” It may also be useful to contact USAID’s implementing partners in the country you are interested in working. A list of implementing partners can be found on http://beta.foreignassistance.gov/. The site allows you to conduct a search by government agency, country, and fiscal year, which allows you to get a complete list of USAID implementing partners for a particular fiscal year.
  • USAID does accept unsolicited proposals and assistance applications. Please read through the Unsolicited Proposals and Grants webpage and Guidelines for Submitting Unsolicited Contract Proposals prior to submission to ensure that your unsolicited proposal is complete according to USAID guidelines. Please keep in mind that funding is available on an extremely limited basis and USAID is only able to approve a small number of the unsolicited proposals it receives.

You may also contact the Ombudsman for questions about how to work with USAID, or USAID Open (open@usaid.gov) if you have questions about other USAID programs.  They will direct you to the appropriate people, programs or resources.

Resources and Useful Links