If you’ve been dreaming of streamlining the procurement process, or better yet, eliminating it altogether and still getting the very best pricing, then exploring U.S. Communities for your next project is a worthwhile endeavor.
What is U.S. Communities?
Founded in 1996, U.S. Communities is the leading nonprofit national government purchasing cooperative. There are no costs or fees to participate. U.S. Communities provides government procurement resources and solutions at the best possible pricing by using aggregated purchasing power. U.S. Communities is sponsored by more than 90 state and regional organizations. Each contract supplier pays a 1%-2.5% administrative fee to participate in the program and those fees fund operating expenses and help offset costs incurred by national and state sponsors. An advisory board consisting of public purchasing professionals provides leadership and overall direction for U.S. Communities, the list of members is available on the U.S. Communities website.
Who Can Benefit from U.S. Communities?
- Local and state government
- School districts (K-12)
- Higher-education institutions (universities, community colleges, etc.)
- Nonprofits
Villages, towns, cities, counties, special districts, states and federal agencies, all nonprofit organizations, public and private schools, universities, and colleges can participate in the U.S. Communities program.
What are the Benefits of Participating in U.S. Communities?
By combining the potential cooperative purchasing power of up to 90,000 public agencies, organizations can access the best supplier government pricing. Eligible organizations have access to thousands of the best brands in a wide variety of categories, services, and solutions, including enterprise project portfolio management (EPPM) software and services. Fixed pricing provides simplicity and transparency.
Third-party audits on contracts ensure that program pricing commitments are met, with benchmark analyses against other suppliers and retailers to guarantee participants the best value.
And finally, the RFP process is avoided, saving your organization administrative resources, costs, and time. All U.S. Communities contracts were competitively solicited by a lead public agency in accordance with their government purchasing rules and regulations. Each solicitation contains language advising all suppliers that the contract may be used by other government agencies across the United States. Each government purchasing organization may have different purchasing procedures to follow, but applying these principles regarding competition satisfies the competitive solicitation requirements of most state and local government agencies. U. S. Communities contracts are non-exclusive, there are no restrictions on other purchases.
Gaea and U.S. Communities
Gaea has partnered with DLT Solutions to provide consulting and implementation services through the U.S. Communities program. Our partnership allows for software, hosting, and professional services to be procured in one easy step. For information on purchasing Oracle solutions and services through U.S. Communities, visit this DLT Solutions page on the U.S. Communities website.
Additional U.S. Communities Information
U.S. Communities also has a website that can help buyers find green solutions. The site includes step-by-step guides and tips to implement green government purchasing programs.
For full details on U.S. Communities, or to register to participate (registration is free), visit the official U.S. Communities website.