Your letter of inquiry is often your first contact with a foundation or funder. Here's how to make sure it is not your last.

An LOI is your first, but hopefully not your last contact with a foundation. There is an art ands science to writing LOI’s that give you a much better chance that it won’t be your last. The science consists of precisely following the foundation’s guidelines; the art is understanding what will interest the program officer enough to bring it to the board, and interest the board enough to say, “it fits.” Both flow from an understanding of what the sole purpose of an LOI is: to get an invitation to send a proposal.

I follow the Three C’s and an S Rule to improve my LOI’s chances of reaching that goal: Clear, Concise, Compelling and Summary.

Clear

Begin with the heading: the words “Letter of Inquiry” clearly printed at the top. From there, write clearly, so there is no ambiguity. No “that sounds great, but I am not sure what it means” reaction, no buzzwords that may show how smart you are but that are meaningless to the screener. Imagine that your are writing for someone whose English is not good: keep it simple, direct, straightforward.

Concise

The LOI should say exactly what the project will do and nothing more. No creativity, no long paragraphs of credits, no interesting but unnecessary description. Every word must count and none can be wasted. (Hint: try to write a half page less than the maximum allowed. And don’t use small type to cram more in; that will create a negative feeling in the reviewer before she reads the title.)

Compelling

The LOI answers the question, why the project fits with the foundation’s agenda. Direct, not cute, but absolutely a grabber. It continues in the opening sentence, which has a single job: answer the question, “what do we want to do and why this is important to you?” The first sentence is your most important element in the LOI. Write it over and over again and test it on various people. Make sure that it answers the question precisely and clearly…and grabs your reader by the throat. An example:

A hundred women a day are abused in factories in border towns and the police ignore calls for help; this project will put a signal button in the hands of every woman on the assembly lines she can push to get immediate help from a local private security office.

Clear, concise, powerful. This gives the program officer what she needs to sell the project in a 30-second presentation in an overloaded board meeting.

The Summary

This may be all the program officer reads and it may also be what she cuts and pastes into the board docket. One paragraph states the problem, the solution strategy, and the project to implement the strategy. Again, it tells the reader what we want to do and why it is important to the foundation’s agenda. It is compelling with facts, not adjectives. Little finger pointing and much description. Self contained so that it can be lifted out and used, but written in strong compelling language so it will be.

Finally, remember that before you write anything, if you can’t express your idea in a single, simple sentence, it needs more thought. When you can write that sentence, then you are ready to write the LOI.

Questions? Comments? Jump in!

db - Aug 8, 2006 5:40 pm (#1 Total: 10)

I've read that questions can focus the reader's attention. Part of the appeal of a great question is that it engages other faculties of the reader's brain and leads without "pushing." Then again, a great question is not always easy to originate. Is it worth the effort?

How and when would you pose a question in a Letter of Inquiry?

Could you offer some examples? Maybe: good, bad, indifferent, great (bulls-eye!).

Thank you for your 3-C & S suggestions.

And thanks, in advance, to everyone who responds.

db from Imiror Efficiensee

shava - Aug 8, 2006 7:40 pm (#2 Total: 10)


It's always best to learn everything you can about the program officer before you write an LOI. Research the person's background. Google them. Find articles they've written. Talk to people who they've funded, and review their LOIs or correspondence if that's appropriate and not confidential. If possible meet the program officer in a non-funding context (at a conference or somesuch).

If you write a very stiff and formal letter to a person who enjoys informal tone, you've got a less good chance of making it past that gatekeeper (and vice versa -- match their preferred tone, if you can psych it out).

Also, research the board a bit. If the program officer likes informal communication but the board is all old fogeys, true to stereotype, you've got an interesting dance if your letter is the only thing the board will see.

Writing a letter of inquiry is less likely to get you anywhere if it's a "cold call." Try and make it a warm call. In the process of checking things out with currently funded groups, you might even get a reference to the foundation, and hear those lovely words, "You know, I've heard of your group from <such and so>, and we'd love to see you apply for funds for <mission and purpose>." That's the easiest letter to write! :)

Shava Nerad executive director Tor project shava -at- freehaven -dot- net

senor pescado - Aug 8, 2006 8:22 pm (#3 Total: 10)
Systems Engineer


however, for me... I am always sort of informal and easygoing with it too many folks are uptight and not loose, as in 'hang loose' if they are not, then I can go elswhere,that is MY option especially after having done so much 'corporate business' for years in RTP and elsewhere in the USA and dealing with 'those types'

it is now time to send a few LOI's to various organizations that have contacted me; as being interested in funding sustainable fishing , as I say, the more jobs I create here in Latin America, the less they want to try to cross the desert and maybe die

all in all, the information in the article was very concise and to the point, well written, Felicitaciones

Peace to all from here in lovely El Salvado....... SenorPescado

Rhonda - Aug 9, 2006 7:58 am (#4 Total: 10)
Co-Founder of a Childrens Educational Foundation

Thank you for the three C's I will print them out and tack them on my white board.

This is a simple strategy easy to appreciate but I must agree with Senor Pescado on the "up tight" side of folks and perhaps obtaining funding from folks that are a little more relaxed. 

Doing the research is also great and getting to know the people works if you are trying to obtain funding in your own back yard.  If you operate global projects you could spend more money on communication than on the actual project itself. 

Thanks to all of you for your advice;

Rhonda Staudt

SASEF

 

Love Humanity - Aug 9, 2006 10:05 am (#5 Total: 10)
Louise Williams

TheThree Cs is a great starting point for writing letters to strangers.  Over the years I have found that the initial letter should be one page only.  Then if there is an interest, the addressee will write back. 

I do agree that one should find out as much as possible about the funding organization before contacting them.  However, when in India and contacting a funder in the USA it is a little difficult.  Google is a good research tool and I use it all the time. 

I have printed out the three Cs and will use them as a guide in my future letters. 

Thanks for this topic of discussion.

Patrick O'Heffernan - Aug 16, 2006 2:09 pm (#6 Total: 10)


This is a great question. In my experience I have found that the for most people, the second best thing in the world is to talk about themselves, so questions are great. However, in an LOI or proposal, it probably is not a good idea unles you kow the person. The response to most questions is "you should hve known that before you sent the LOI....don't you read the website?"

Patrick O'Heffernan - Aug 16, 2006 2:11 pm (#7 Total: 10)


you can researach funders in the US from India on the Foundation Center website, the funder's website, google, and subscription websites that sift through peronal and financial data. What you can't do easily is make phone calls. But the web is a great tool for the iformation you need for an LOI

Patrick O'Heffernan - Aug 16, 2006 2:15 pm (#8 Total: 10)


My rule is, if you do not know the person, go formal. But formal is necessarily stiff. I try to imaging myself reading a letter from someone I don't know (I get a lot of practice) and looking at my own response. Formal implies respect for the letter reader; stiff implies distance from the reader - which is not the same thing. Sine you want this person to relate to you, the tone should not be stiff and distant. Also, keep in mind, you are a peer, not a suplicant. the reader cannot do what you do, so the letter is more of a note to an ally that a request to a powerful funder.

Patrick O'Heffernan - Aug 16, 2006 2:17 pm (#9 Total: 10)


Make sure you are not so informal that the letter comes across as not respectful. Friendly, approachable, a potential partner, but respectful is best

Patrick O'Heffernan - Aug 16, 2006 2:19 pm (#10 Total: 10)