Where can I find examples of letters of inquiry/intent?

Sample letters of inquiry are usually difficult to find, via print or the Internet, because they are typically very specific to the organization requesting funding as well as the donor's mission, and they work only within that context. However, there are a few resources with actual letters of inquiry or templates that can be used to guide you.

• The Foundation Center's Guide to Winning Proposals and Guide to Winning Proposals II. Includes actual cover letters, letters of inquiry, budgets, and vital supplementary documents needed to develop a complete proposal. Features 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.

• Nonprofit Guides (http://www.npguides.org/guide/inquiry_letter.htm) has a sample letter of inquiry, proposal, proposal cover letter, budget, and other items that may be of use to you.

• Tucson-Pima Public Library (http://www.lib.ci.tucson.az.us/grants/grants43.htm) has a short sample letter of inquiry available on its site.

• Kent State University (http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/) hosts a brief letter of inquiry template.

• The Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/superfund/tools/tag/) offers a sample letter of intent to a governmental organization.

• The Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights' Stop Violence Against Women Web site has not one but two sample letters of inquiry.

• You can also try a number of Internet search engines such as Google using the keywords "sample nonprofit letters of inquiry" or "sample nonprofit letters of intent".

Keep in mind that sample letters of inquiry are specific to the grantseeker and grantmaker involved. Your situation may differ.

See also our FAQ "What should be included in a letter of inquiry/intent?"

For more information on proposal writing, you may want to review the Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing; the online version of the same, A Proposal Writing Short Course (also available in Spanish, French, and Russian); our full-day Proposal Writing Seminar; our full-day Proposal Writing Seminar II: Tailoring Your Proposals to Maximize Success; the free one-hour Proposal Writing Basics; the Spanish-language version of the same, Proposal Writing Basics in Spanish: Principios de la escritura de propuestas; our full-day Proposal Budgeting Workshop; the free one-hour Proposal Budgeting Basics; or the online budgeting tutorial, Proposal Budgeting Basics.

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