AbilityOne Program

The program is run by the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, an independent federal agency operating as the U.S. AbilityOne Commission. The Commission maintains the Procurement List, sets prices and authorizes the nonprofit sources. It has designated two central nonprofit agencies, National Industries for the Blind and SourceAmerica, to represent participating nonprofits. Under 41 CFR 51-1.3, a qualified nonprofit must employ blind individuals, or individuals with severe disabilities, for at least 75% of the direct labor hours needed to furnish its products and services.

FAR 8.704 makes the list binding. Agencies must buy listed supplies and services at Commission prices from the designated nonprofit if available in the period required, and no other FAR provision allows an exception. For supplies, Federal Prison Industries comes first, then AbilityOne nonprofits, then commercial sources; for services, AbilityOne comes first. Adding an item takes six to 12 months, including a 120 to 150 day Commission review with Federal Register notices.

Small businesses take part in two ways. About 250 small businesses sell AbilityOne products to federal customers as authorized commercial distributors, under a list the Commission publishes, and participating nonprofits subcontract work to small businesses.

Once a product or service is on the Procurement List, the agency must buy it from the designated nonprofit, so a small business cannot win that requirement through a set-aside. Check the Procurement List before you invest in a capture. When the Commission proposes adding an item you sell, it publishes a Federal Register notice at least 30 days before deciding, and that comment period is your one chance to put your capacity and pricing on the record. The open doors are becoming an authorized AbilityOne commercial distributor, or subcontracting to or supplying a participating nonprofit.