PVO Registration

The Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) registration program connects USAID with new and capable NGO partners that provide lasting solutions to development, humanitarian and health challenges.

Overview

A subset of the wider NGO community, PVOs have for more than 50 years played an essential role in USAID's efforts to address global humanitarian and development needs. In FY 2010, PVOs leveraged over $22.9 billion in private donations with an additional $3.5 billion of USAID support.

The PVO registration process enables USAID to identify capable partners and ensures that registrants meet the Agency's basic partnership requirements. An organization that meets the definition of a PVO must register to compete for grants and other types of funding.

Certain types of NGOs do not need to register as a PVO, including universities/colleges, local indigenous NGOs, sub-awardees/grantees, private foundations, hospitals, exclusively religious institutions, and organizations applying for awards from the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance.

Registration Process

The registration process enables USAID to determine whether an applicant meets the eight conditions for U.S. based and non-U.S. based organizations, which specify certain standards for registration, including legal status, governance and financial condition. Applicants begin the process by gathering required documents and obtaining a D-U-N-S number. The next step is to fill out the online application and upload required documents in PDF form. Once the application is submitted and complete, USAID's Registration Review Committee makes a final decision on whether the applicant meets the registration conditions. Approved PVOs receive a registration confirmation letter and are listed in the PVO Registry. Once registered, PVOs are eligible to compete for grants, cooperative agreements and other types of assistance funding.

Please note: The registration process may take four to six weeks to complete and depends on the accuracy of the information prepared by the applicant. Keep the registration timeframe in mind when considering funding opportunities.

Before applying to the PVO Registry please ensure that your organization:

• Meets USAID's definition of a PVO (see the Conditions of Registration)
• Receives a D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet
• Has audited financial statements for its most recently ended fiscal year (or the prior fiscal year as long as it ended no more than 15 months prior to the registration submission date) *

* Financial statements must be audited and prepared on an accrual basis in accordance with GAAP principles by an independent certified public accountant for registration purposes.

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Database and Annual Report

Data collected during the registration process provides a resource that informs USAID decision makers as well as the Agency's various constituencies. This data helps the Agency and its missions identify areas where the PVO community has focused its resources and enables better targeting of upcoming award opportunities. Subsets of award data provide USAID with opportunities to evaluate whether specific funding types are supporting desired policy targets. In addition, PVO activity information helps USAID to identify and link organizations with complementary abilities.

The PVO registration program makes registration data available to its various constituencies:

• USAID Staff - Direct access to data and reports allows staff to quickly identify and assess potential partners with appropriate geographical/operational presence, both in the immediate aftermath of disasters as well as for long-term development needs; ad hoc reports provide staff with granular views of PVO activities - current and historical-to support evaluations of strategic as well as tactical accomplishments.
• Congress and policy experts - The Report of Voluntary Agencies (VolAg Report) provides an annual overview of the PVO community's activities.
• PVOs, other development-focused organizations, and the public at large - An easy-to-search, Web-accessible dataset allows development-focused organizations to locate entities with complementary missions and strengths, and provides benefactors with a first-stop for researching funding opportunities.

PVO Registry   |   VolAg Report

Point of Contact

Address questions about PVO Registration or the annual submission process to the Registration Coordinator at pvoregistry@pvo.net, or call (202) 559-0149.

Resources and Useful Links

• FAQs about PVO Registration
• Grants and Contracts Process
• Funding Opportunities
• PVO Registration Renewal Schedule