Tips for Writing a Letter of Inquiry

Preferably the last paragraph of the Letter of Inquiry should provide the contact information. In a
small, volunteer-run organization this might be a board member. Organizations with staff should
provide contact information for the executive director and/or the development director.
Submit your Letter of Inquiry as soon as possible, but not before the project is ready.
Grant requests may be turned down or deferred if it appears that it is too early in the project for
the Foundation to pursue a grant. Grant seekers can improve their chances if they follow three
guidelines:
1. Capital campaigns should achieve a substantial percentage of goal (often 40% to 50%)
before writing to a Foundation. The Foundation wants to know that the project has local
support.
2. If the project hinges upon a key commitment, be reasonably sure that commitment is in
place before writing a Letter of Inquiry. Such commitments might be a large grant from a
major foundation or a major government grant.
3. Fully develop the vision for what the project will accomplish. Building a building is not
an accomplishment itself. The building is only a tool for accomplishing a larger
community good.
Be prepared for your reporting responsibilities.
The first step to your next grant is your reporting on your current grant. When you receive a
grant, make sure that you plan for update reports to all donors. The narrative should outline both
the progress toward the program objectives outlined in your formal application and an update on
the budget submitted with the formal application. Reports should be made at least every six
months until the project is completed.
Remember that your budget is only a plan.
While budgets are important, they are only tools for understanding bigger issues. Your Letter of
Inquiry should outline the problem/opportunity your organization wants to deal with and how it
plans to approach the situation. Naturally, that raises the question, “What resources do you need
for this project?” A budget is a tool for answering that question.
In addition, no budget is complete without an income portion. This portion of the budget
explains how you plan to garner the resources you need for the project. Often this is the most
difficult portion of the budget.
Letters of Inquiry only need to summarize the budget information with figures such as total
project cost, the plan for raising needed resources, and a request for a specific amount from the
Foundation.