United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a US Government Agency that is responsible for administration of all foreign civilian aid. It was established in the year 1961, and is headquartered at Washington DC. The mission statement of USAID is to ‘to partner to end extreme poverty and to promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing the security and prosperity of the United States’.
USAID partners with NGOs to achieve its strategic goals and objectives for providing assistance across the world. It partners with international and local NGOs, networks and groups, and civil society organizations in various ways, for the belief that the complex socio-economic-cultural problems globally cannot be solved without local support and expertise.
The type of organizations USAID partner with are:
- Foundations:
USAID partners with foundations, which are defined as private charitable or philanthropic foundations for sharing of knowledge, expertise, and tackling developmental challenges. - Local organizations:
USAID also works with regional organizations in the developing countries to build their capacities and make them sustainable in long run. NGOs may work with USAID in various ways: they may work directly with the USAID missions in their respective countries, or may manage programs through the local works program if they build their capacities to that level. USAID also supports capacity building and advocacy programs that foster healthy environment for civil society participation. - Cooperatives:
USAID also supports NGOs in establishing cooperative organizations through its Cooperative Development Program (CDP). It has other programs also to support development at the field. - Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO):
PVOs are nonprofit organizations that work for addressing development problems abroad. Interested PVOs should first apply for USAID’s PVO registry, which is a screening process that will determine whether they are eligible or not for applying for USAID funding. - International organizations:
USAID works with international partner organizations to leverage their expertise and resources for development assistance endeavors.
Interested NGOs can explore more about the opportunities USAID provides, its strategies and current partner and work on its website: https://www.usaid.gov/
