Ocean Freight Reimbursement Program (OFR)

Reimburses registered U.S. private voluntary organizations (PVOs) to ship commodities overseas for use in privately funded development and humanitarian assistance programs.

Applicants must be a U.S. PVO registered with USAID's Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation; receive at least 20 percent of its total annual financial support for its international programs from non-U.S. government sources; ship only those commodities and only to those countries approved by USAID; have staff or consignees in-country to ensure proper pick-up and distribution of commodities; and provide Duty-Free Certification with the application for each country to which commodities will be shipped.

Registered PVOs in the United States, as well as people located in USAID eligible countries who are in need of humanitarian assistance or relief, benefit from these grants.

As specified in a published Request for Applications. This would include the applicant organization's name, address, contact person and information; project objectives; funding and budget; proposed partners; executive summary, organizational overview, program description, program management and structure; monitoring and consignee receiving distribution system.

Awards are made on the basis of competitive Technical Evaluation Committee review of applications. Each application is scored using criteria incorporated in the Request for Applications. Awards are given based on relative scores.

Approximately five to seven months from the receipt of applications.