FAR 8.714—Communications with the central nonprofit agencies and the Committee.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 8.714 is a simple but important administrative provision that tells contracting personnel where to send communications involving the AbilityOne program’s central nonprofit agencies and the Committee. It identifies the mailing addresses and phone numbers for the two central nonprofit agencies—National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and NISH—and it also specifies the address for matters that must be referred to the Committee. In practice, this section exists to prevent misdirected correspondence, delays, and processing errors when agencies need to coordinate on AbilityOne-related matters, including procurement support, program administration, and issues that require Committee attention. Although it does not itself create substantive procurement rights or ordering rules, it is operationally significant because correct routing is often necessary for timely resolution and compliance with the AbilityOne framework. For contracting officers and other acquisition staff, this section is a contact-and-referral roadmap: use the listed central nonprofit agency contacts for routine program communications, and use the Committee address when a matter specifically requires referral to the Committee.
Key Rules
Use listed CNA addresses
The section provides the official addresses and phone numbers for the central nonprofit agencies: National Industries for the Blind and NISH. Communications intended for these organizations should be sent to the listed locations to ensure they reach the correct program point of contact.
Refer Committee matters directly
Any matter that requires referral to the Committee must be addressed to the Executive Director of the Committee at the specified Arlington, Virginia address. This is the designated routing point for Committee-level issues, so users should not send such matters to the central nonprofit agencies instead.
Distinguish CNA from Committee
The rule separates communications to the central nonprofit agencies from communications that require Committee referral. Practically, this means the sender must determine whether the issue is a routine CNA communication or a matter that rises to Committee level before mailing or otherwise directing the correspondence.
Administrative, not substantive
This section is about contact information and routing, not about eligibility, priority, pricing, or ordering procedures. Its function is to support proper administration of the AbilityOne program by ensuring correspondence goes to the correct entity.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Identify whether an AbilityOne-related issue should go to a central nonprofit agency or be referred to the Committee, then send the communication to the correct listed address.
Agency Acquisition Staff
Use the official contact information in this section when coordinating program matters, and avoid sending Committee-level issues to the central nonprofit agencies by mistake.
Central Nonprofit Agencies (NIB and NISH)
Receive communications sent to their listed addresses and handle matters within their program role under the AbilityOne framework.
Committee Executive Director
Receive matters that require referral to the Committee at the designated address and process or direct them as appropriate within the Committee’s responsibilities.
Practical Implications
This section matters mainly for correct routing: sending a matter to the wrong entity can delay procurement support or program decisions.
Contracting personnel should confirm whether an issue is routine coordination with a central nonprofit agency or a matter that must go to the Committee before sending correspondence.
The listed addresses and phone numbers are the authoritative contact points in this FAR section, so users should rely on them rather than informal or outdated contacts.
A common pitfall is assuming all AbilityOne-related questions go to the same place; this section makes clear that Committee referrals are separate from CNA communications.
Because the provision is purely administrative, it should be read together with the broader AbilityOne rules to determine whether a matter actually requires Committee referral.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) The addresses of the central nonprofit agencies are: (1) National Industries for the Blind 1310 Braddock Place Alexandria, VA 22314-1691 (703) 310-0500; and (2) NISH 8401 Old Courthouse Road Vienna, VA 22182 (571) 226-4660. (b) Any matter requiring referral to the Committee shall be addressed to: Executive Director of the Committee, 1401 S. Clark Street, Suite 10800, Arlington, VA 22202-3259.