Working at National Car Charging (NCC), I was familiar with cooperative purchasing and well aware of Sourcewell. What I hadn’t fully appreciated until recently was just how powerful it can be for our public-sector clients—and how clearly it stands apart from most other cooperative purchasing options.

At NCC, our team is in the weeds with public agencies every day as they tackle EV infrastructure and fleet electrification. These projects start with big goals and good intentions—and then reality hits. Compliance requirements. Funding strings. Long-term operations. Risk. Suddenly, even smart, well-organized teams can feel like they’re pushing uphill.

What surprised me was how quietly Sourcewell clears the path. No noise. No hype. Just a framework that does exactly what it’s meant to do.

Here are five things I learned about Sourcewell that more public agencies should know—because they save time, reduce risk, and make big, complex purchases like EV charging feel far more manageable.

1. Sourcewell’s scale is bigger than I ever imagined.

There are roughly 90,000 public entities in the U.S. But here’s the stat that stopped me cold: more than 50,000 of them already use Sourcewell.

That’s not trivia—that’s leverage.

In the EV world, scale isn’t about bragging rights. It directly impacts pricing discipline, contract terms, and whether vendors will still be standing years from now when chargers need support. EV charging isn’t a trial run—it’s long-term infrastructure.

Sourcewell’s scale delivers not-to-exceed pricing and real volume leverage that individual agencies simply can’t replicate on their own—often while still purchasing through local dealers and representatives.

When a public entity buys through Sourcewell, it isn’t stepping out alone. It’s backed by the collective force of tens of thousands of peer agencies—and that kind of backing changes the equation.

2. Sourcewell is a public entity—and you can feel it.

This was a genuine lightbulb moment for me.

Sourcewell isn’t a private marketplace. It isn’t a reseller. It’s a self-funded public corporation, created by the

Minnesota legislature to serve other public entities as a municipal contracting agency.

And that DNA shows. Sourcewell understands what actually keeps public agencies up at night:

Compliance and audit defensibility
Transparency and fairness
Risk exposure
Long asset lifecycles
Vendors that won’t disappear midstream

In EV infrastructure, those priorities matter just as much as the hardware itself. Chargers are public assets with long tails—not short-term purchases. Sourcewell’s contracts are built for that reality, giving agencies confidence that procurement has been handled correctly, defensibly, and in alignment with public-sector standards.

3. The supplier vetting is intense—in the best way.

Let’s clear something up: cooperative contracts are not the easy button.

In the EV charging category alone, Sourcewell reviewed RFP responses from more than 70 suppliers. Only a small handful—like National Car Charging—made the cut.

That’s not convenience. That’s rigor.

What this unlocks for agencies is significant. Instead of draining already-stretched teams with months of RFPs, evaluations, and negotiations, agencies can focus on what actually matters: comparing solutions, assessing fit, and selecting what best aligns with their goals.

All while trusting that Sourcewell has already handled vetting, negotiation, pricing discipline, and compliance.

For fast-moving technologies like EV charging, that shift—from process-heavy to decision-focused—is a game changer and allows public entities to stay ahead instead of playing catch-up.

4. The people pushing EV projects often don’t know this option exists.

This is a gap I see over and over.

Facilities teams. Fleet managers. Sustainability leads. Transportation departments. These are the folks in the trenches—planning sites, managing timelines, and pushing projects forward.

But they’re not always the ones managing procurement contracts. Procurement may already have Sourcewell access—yet the end users don’t realize it’s even an option.

The result? Extra RFPs. Longer timelines. Unnecessary friction. Momentum lost before projects even launch.

For EV charging, the biggest unlock is often shockingly simple: awareness. Knowing there’s already a compliant, pre-vetted purchasing pathway can shave months off a timeline and dramatically reduce internal strain.

5. Most public entities already qualify—and there’s no catch.

This one’s almost too easy.

Cities, counties, school districts, higher education institutions, utilities, and special districts—most public entities already qualify for Sourcewell membership. Signing up is straightforward. And there’s no obligation to buy anything. It’s simply access.

And that access matters. Sourcewell contracts aren’t one-size-fits-all. Agencies can tailor additional terms and conditions to meet local goals—without giving up the benefits of a competitively awarded, compliant contract.

When EV projects surface quickly—as they often do—having that option ready can be the difference between maintaining momentum and watching it stall.

Why this matters—especially for EV infrastructure.

EV charging projects are big. They sit at the crossroads of infrastructure, operations, compliance, and long-term maintenance. They aren’t impulse purchases—and when something goes wrong, the consequences are expensive, highly visible, and difficult to unwind.

There are a handful strong, reputable cooperative purchasing programs in the market, and NCC works closely with most of the leading cooperatives across the country. We’re intentional about where we focus—because our public-sector clients need procurement frameworks that are durable, well-run, and built to perform over time. For those reasons, Sourcewell consistently stands out as one of the most effective and reliable programs we partner with.

As with all of our cooperative partners, Sourcewell doesn’t replace thoughtful planning or sound procurement practices. It amplifies them—by reducing friction, narrowing the field to rigorously vetted suppliers, enforcing pricing discipline, and giving public entities a compliant, defensible, and efficient way to move forward with confidence.

If EV infrastructure is even on the horizon for your organization, it’s worth understanding how Sourcewell works before you’re under pressure to act.

Because sometimes the smartest move isn’t adopting something new—it’s recognizing when the better, more reliable path has been there all along.

Watch the companion video for this story on NCC’s YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/k4CoH9V8tFs

About the Author

Margaret-Ann Leavitt leads marketing and communications at National Car Charging and Aloha Charge, where she blends strategy, storytelling, and a deep commitment to sustainability to drive EV infrastructure growth nationwide. Based in Denver and having gone to college in upstate NY, she’s no stranger to snow, cold starts, and real-world winter driving—and has been fossil fuel–free for nearly a decade. A former leader at Mattel, FCB Global, Home Instead, and multiple high-growth startups, she brings a rare mix of data-driven rigor and creative vision to demystifying why EVs often outperform expectations when winter gets real. She’s also a longtime advocate for youth empowerment, including serving as Board Chair of Girls Athletic Leadership School (GALS Denver).

Five Things You Might Not Know About Sourcewell.