Is your LOI killing your grant opportunities?

Many foundations require an LOI, or letter of inquiry. This is your one and usually only chance to make a good first impression. Since I edit a lot of these for clients in my business, I have seen a pretty good cross-section of  approaches, and some things stand out.

Many LOI submissions read more like a letter to a friend than a proposal outline. Others almost sound like the writer is bored with having to write it in the first place.

The LOI is essentially an executive summary of your longer grant proposal, not a "Hi, nice to meet you" social media post, or a mere formality. It needs to stimulate the grantor's interest in inviting you to submit a full proposal.

LOI submissions are normally size limited. Some online submissions are as short as one page, but in general they run from two to four pages. Some grantors give you a maximum length, but in general, if your pitch can't be synopsized in three pages, it may be too long or more properly, not focused enough. I have yet to see any grantor request more than five pages.

Others don't follow the specific instructions from the grantor. If they say "do not include graphs or charts" that's what they mean. Requesting a "brief program overview"  means hit the high points. If they want a full program explanation they will ask for it if your LOI is selected for follow-up.

Many LOI writers don't address the grantor's field of interest. This is a common failing of the templated or boilerplate LOI. Just as in every other life event, one size usually doesn't fit all. You may know that your program or organization is a good fit, but the grantor doesn't know how or where you will fit in, so you need to tell them. This is particularly true if the grantor is funding several fields of interest.

You need to stand out from the crowd. If you have a particularly novel problem-solving approach, highlight it. LOI's today need to address outcomes, either existing or planned. If you have outstanding results, at least allude to them to pique the grantor's interest in knowing more.

Should you include a specific monetary request or target?  In general, yes, but it has to be done correctly. If your program is budgeted to need $50,000, but the grantor doesn't award above $10,000, you will need to mention where you expect to get the other 40K. Some LOI's require it.

Some grantors don't want a specific number, but in general they will include that information in the LOI guidelines. If they don't, it never hurts to pick up the  phone or email them to ask for clarification. You can also review their previous grant awards to get a sense of how much they are likely to consider reasonable.

Your LOI is sort of the nonprofit equivalent of a sales letter. You need to strike a balance between sounding like a late-night commercial and taking the reader for granted. You need to show there is a benefit to the grantor in partnering with you rather than the other fifty organizations that submitted LOI's for consideration.

The LOI is an important fundraising tool. Use it wisely and well.