What Should Be Included in a Letter of Inquiry?

Adapted courtesy of the Foundation Center

Letters of inquiry are an important part of the fundraising process. Many foundations, including Knott, require that a letter of inquiry for funding be submitted before sending a full proposal. It is important to recognize that a well-written letter of inquiry is crucial to securing funding for your project. An effective letter of inquiry is often more difficult to write than a full proposal. The letter of inquiry should be brief — no more than one page — and must be a succinct but thorough presentation of the need or problem you have identified, the proposed solution, and your organization’s qualifications for implementing that solution.

Not unlike a full grant proposal, the letter of inquiry includes:

  • Introduction
  • Description of your organization:
  • Statement of Need (The compelling problem you are addressing in your proposal)
  • Methodology (Program description, activities, statistics, examples, partnerships)
  • Other funding sources
  • Summary

The Introduction serves as the executive summary and includes: the amount needed or requested, a description of the project, the qualifications of project staff, a brief description of evaluative methodology, and a timetable.

The Description of your organization should be concise and focus on the ability of your organization to meet the stated need. Provide a very brief history (how old are you?) and description of your current programs (who and how many do you serve?) while demonstrating a direct connection between what is currently happening and what you wish to accomplish with the funding. You will flesh this section out in greater detail if you are invited to submit a full proposal.

The Statement of Need is an essential element of the letter of inquiry and must convince the reader that there is an important need that your project can solve. The statement of need includes a description of the target population and geographical area, appropriate statistical data in abbreviated form, and concrete examples.

The Methodology should be appropriate to your statement of need and present a clear, logical and achievable solution to the stated need. Describe the project briefly, including major activities (any partners?), names and titles of key project staff, and your desired objectives and evaluation. As with the organization description, this will be presented in greater detail in a full proposal.

Other funding sources being approached for support of this project should be listed in a brief sentence or paragraph.

The Summary restates the intent of the project, affirms your readiness to answer further questions, and thanks the potential funder for their consideration.

Notes:

Letterhead: Use good quality paper with your information in an easy-to-read typeface and should include your organization’s name, address, telephone and fax numbers, web address, e-mail address and date.

Attachments: Should only be included at the direction of the funder and should be specific to their application guidelines.

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Resources

There are a number of resources that provide information on letters of inquiry available for free use in the Foundation Center libraries, including:

  • Geever, Jane C. The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing. 3rd ed. New York, NY: The Foundation Center, 2001. Guides the grantwriter from pre-proposal planning to post-grant follow-up. Incorporates excerpts from actual grant proposals and interviews with foundation and corporate grantmakers about what they look for in a proposal. Includes chapters on researching, contacting and cultivating potential funders, as well as a sample proposal and a selected bibliography on proposal development.
  • Collins, Sarah (ed.) The Foundation Center's Guide to Winning Proposals. New York, NY: The Foundation Center, 2003. Features twenty grant proposals that have been funded by some of today's most influential grantmakers. Each proposal —reprinted in its entirety—includes commentary by the program officer, executive director, or other funding decision maker who awarded that grant. Proposals are included from large and small, local and national organizations, and for many different support purposes, including basic budgetary support, special projects, construction, staff positions, and more. Also includes actual letters of inquiry, budgets, cover letters, and vital supplementary documents needed to develop a complete proposal.
  • Carlson, Mim. Winning Grants Step by Step: Support Centers of America's Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1995.Contains exercises designed to help with proposal planning and writing skills and to meet the requirements of both government agencies and private funders. Provides special resource section that includes how to write a letter of intent.
  • Clarke, Cheryl A. Storytelling for Grantseekers: The Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 2001. Clarke puts forward the notion that proposals share much with great stories: characters, setting, and plot. Includes a sample letter of inquiry and a sample budget, as well as information on packaging the proposal.
  • Zimmerman, Robert M. Grantseeking: A Step-By-Step Approach. Revised ed. San Francisco, CA: Zimmerman, Lehman and Associates, 1998. Directed to novices in the field, the book includes a section on how to write a letter of intent, with a sample.
  • Elements of a Grant Proposal, sponsored by The Paladin Group, includes information on letters of intent from The Center for Nonprofit Management.

See also “Where can I find examples of letters of inquiry?”

To learn more about proposal writing, take the online tutorial, “A Proposal Writing Short Course,” in the Learning Lab. The Foundation Center also offers a fee-based full-day proposal writing seminar in various locations around the country and free one-hour courses (Proposal Writing Basics and Proposal Budgeting Basics) offered in Center Libraries and some Cooperating Collections.

The Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations also offers a wide variety of grant writing and fundraising seminars: www.mdnonprofits.org

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