U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) – Sewn Flag

Choose Your Options

Every U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Sewn Flag is made to order, so tell us how you want it built. These are the choices.

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• Mounting: A pole hem is a sewn sleeve along the hoist edge that slides over an indoor or parade pole. A pole hem with fringe adds gold rayon fringe on three edges, the traditional ceremonial finish. Grommets are brass rings set into a canvas header, the standard finish for an outdoor flagpole.
• Single-sided or double-sided: A single-sided flag carries the design on the front only; the back is blank. A double-sided flag shows the design on both sides and is built one of three ways:
  • Double-reverse: one layer of fabric, so the appliqué shows through on the back in reverse. The lightest build.
  • Double-paneled: two panels sewn back to back, so the design reads correctly on both sides. The heaviest build, and it needs the most wind to fly.
  • Single field, double seal: one field with the emblem on the front and a second emblem tacked to the back, so the seal reads correctly from either side without the weight of two panels.
• Sewn construction: Each color of the emblem is cut from fabric and appliquéd to the field with a satin stitch. Lettering and fine detail are embroidered with a fill stitch. The result stands in relief and reads across a room.
• Size: 3x4 FT, 3x5 FT, 4x6 FT, 52x66 IN. For another size, give us the finished width and height you need.

Product Features

• Official Agency for International Development design: the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Sewn Flag carries the Agency for International Development’s official emblem, reproduced to the agency’s design in the mounting and size you order.
• Sewn construction: each element of the emblem is cut from fabric and satin stitched to the nylon field, with lettering and fine detail embroidered in fill stitch, so the design stands in relief and reads across a room.
• Nylon field: lightweight nylon that hangs well on an indoor pole and carries cleanly in a parade.
• Built your way: single-sided or double-sided (double-reverse, double-paneled or single field double seal); pole hem, fringed pole hem or grommets; 3x4 FT, 3x5 FT, 4x6 FT, 52x66 IN.
• Made in the USA: every USAID flag we sell is made in the USA.
• Matched sets: order one flag or a set for every office, and the mounting and size will be the same on each.

Historical Background

USAID traced its roots to the Marshall Plan and the aid agencies that followed it, including the Mutual Security Agency, the Foreign Operations Administration and the International Cooperation Administration. President John F. Kennedy made the reform of foreign aid a top priority. On September 4, 1961, he signed the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which separated military aid from economic aid and called for a new agency to replace the International Cooperation Administration and the Development Loan Fund.

On November 3, 1961, Kennedy issued Executive Order 10973, which directed the Secretary of State to establish the Agency for International Development within the Department of State. Fowler Hamilton served as its first Administrator. The agency brought together economic and technical assistance, development lending and the distribution of surplus farm products under Food for Peace. In 1998, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act wrote USAID into statute and placed its Administrator under the direct authority and foreign policy guidance of the Secretary of State.

In January 2025, Executive Order 14169 paused most U.S. foreign assistance for review. Secretary of State Marco Rubio became Acting Administrator in February 2025. In March, the State Department announced the cancellation of about 83 percent of USAID programs and notified Congress of a plan to realign the agency's remaining functions into State. The State Department announced that USAID ceased administering foreign assistance awards as of July 1, 2025, and State took over the remaining programs.

GAO reported that USAID's workforce fell from about 13,600 staff worldwide in January 2025, a count that included contractors and Foreign Service Nationals, to 241 federal employees in April 2026. In September 2026, the Secretary of State delegated to the official performing the duties of the USAID Administrator the authority to approve funds solely for terminating USAID awards and winding down USAID functions. The delegation remains in effect until June 30, 2027.

USAID's emblem descends from the symbol created in 1948 to mark Marshall Plan aid, a design adapted from the Great Seal of the United States. In 1953, Eleanor Gault, an employee in the Marking and Labeling Office of the Mutual Security Agency, a USAID predecessor, revised the emblem with clasped hands so the aid would be seen as part of a mutual effort with mutual benefits.

In the mid-1990s the agency returned to the shield as the primary symbol of U.S. foreign assistance, and color was removed from the handclasp so that no specific race was identified. In 2001, a seal with "United States Agency for International Development" in a circle around the shield became the agency's official marking. The logo was updated in 2004, when the "USAID" brand name and the tagline "From the American People" were added so people would understand the assistance is provided by U.S. taxpayers.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Flag: Symbolism at a Glance

• Handclasp: Clasped hands have been a sign of unity, goodwill and cooperation for centuries. USAID's brand standards call the handclasp a symbol of the United States' long history of aiding those in need.
• Shield: Carries "USAID" across the top, the handclasp in the middle and the stars and stripes of the American flag in the lower third.
• Agency name ring: Spells out "United States Agency for International Development" in a circle around the shield, the official marking since 2001.
• USAID brand name: Sets "US" in blue and "AID" in red. The two colors, the same red and blue as the American flag, set the two parts of the name apart.
• "From the American People" tagline: Added with the brand name in 2004 so people would understand that U.S. taxpayers fund the assistance.