U.S. Communities is a leading government purchasing cooperative that reduces the cost of goods and services for participating agencies by aggregating their purchasing power nationwide. Lead public agencies competitively solicit contracts which U.S. Communities makes available to agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofits nationwide.
Yes. The Advisory Board consists of public purchasing professionals that provides leadership and overall direction for U.S. Communities. View the list of Advisory Board members.
Yes, in most states. All U.S. Communities contracts have been competitively solicited by a lead public agency in accordance with their government purchasing rules and regulations. Each solicitation contains language that advises all suppliers that the contract may be used by other government agencies throughout the United States. This language is based on the lead jurisdiction "Joint Powers Authority" or "Cooperative Procurement Authority". Although each government purchasing organization may have different purchasing procedures to follow, applying these competitive principles satisfies the competitive solicitation requirements of most state and local government agencies.
State statutes and, if applicable, local ordinances generally allow one government agency to purchase from contracts competitively solicited by another government agency ("Lead Public Agency"). This, of course, would require the consent of all parties including the supplier, the Lead Public Agency and the government agency purchasing from the Lead Public Agency contract. U.S. Communities contracts are established to meet both the competitive solicitation and consent requirements. Generally, a public body may participate in, sponsor, conduct or administer a cooperative procurement agreement with one or more other public bodies, or agencies of the United States, for the purpose of combining requirements to increase efficiency or reduce administrative expenses. In some states, this power is not passed on to localities.
The contract documents including the Master Agreement, Amendments, Extension, RFP and Solicitation documents are available for download on each supplier page. View Product and Supplier pages.
Public agencies must register to participate. Registration is free and there are no restrictions on the amount or size of an order.
There are no costs or user fees to the local agency to participate.
Yes, in addition to villages, towns, cities, counties, special districts, states agencies, all non-profit organizations, as well as public and private schools, universities and colleges can also utilize the program.
First speak to the supplier representative, but if this does not work, contact a U.S. Communities Program Manager.
Yes, all U.S. Communities contracts are non-exclusive. There are no restrictions on other purchases.
Companies interested in becoming suppliers under the U.S. Communities program should periodically check the U.S. Communities Current Solicitations page for postings. Interested companies may also wish to register directly with U.S. Communities Advisory Board Agencies to receive notices of solicitation.
For information on requirements for participation, please see the Supplier Commitments, Supplier Selection and Become a Supplier pages.
Yes, U.S. Communities has additional information on our Go Green Program. In addition, many of our suppliers have items designated to help you buy green.