Letter of Inquiry Template
Many private funders will not accept a full proposal until they have seen a letter of inquiry, which is a two-page argument for why a longer conversation is worth their time. It is a different document from a proposal, not a shortened one, and the difference is what most first attempts get wrong.
See the coursesEverything on this page is yours to copy and adapt. The courses cover the decisions behind it: what to charge, what to promise, and what to put in writing.
What yours needs to cover
- ✓ An opening that names the ask and the project in the first paragraph
- ✓ A short statement of the problem, with one or two pieces of real evidence
- ✓ The project in outline: who it serves, how many, and over what period
- ✓ A brief case for the organization, focused on relevant results rather than history
- ✓ A close that says what you would like to happen next
How to use it
- Confirm the funder actually wants a letter of inquiry, and check whether they specify a length or a form.
- Write the ask and the project first, then cut back to what fits on two pages.
- Put anything numeric in the first half, since that is the part most likely to be read closely.
- Send it, record the date, and follow up once after the period the funder states.
What a program officer is deciding when they read your letter
A letter of inquiry is a screening document. The program officer reading it is answering three narrow questions. Is this within our priorities, is the amount within our range, and does this organization look capable of doing what it describes. They are not yet judging the quality of your evaluation design or the detail of your budget, and a letter that tries to cover those things usually crowds out the answers to the three questions that matter.
That makes the letter an exercise in selection. You will know far more about the project than two pages can hold, and the work is choosing the one statistic, the one result and the one sentence of fit that make a conversation worth having.
Building the two pages paragraph by paragraph
Open with the request in a single sentence that names your organization, the amount, the project and the period. Follow it with one sentence explaining why this funder, in terms of their stated priorities rather than flattery. The second paragraph states the problem with one or two pieces of local evidence, dated and sourced.
The third and fourth paragraphs describe the project in outline, who it serves, how many people, what they will do and what will change for them. Then give a short paragraph on your organization that points to a relevant result, such as the number of families your pantry served last year or the completion rate of a previous cohort. Close by stating the total project budget, any other funding already committed, and the name and direct contact of the person who can answer questions.
Following up without becoming a nuisance
Many foundations state how long they take to respond, and a single polite follow-up after that period is normal. If the funder publishes no timeline, six to eight weeks is a reasonable interval before asking whether the letter arrived. Record the date sent and the reply in your grant tracker, because an invitation to apply often comes with a deadline that is shorter than you would like. Unit 8 of the Advanced course covers letters of inquiry and the relationship work that surrounds them.
A filled-in example
| Opening request | Maple Hollow Reading Partners requests $25,000 over one year to expand its summer reading program to a second site |
|---|---|
| Why this funder | The foundation funds early literacy in the county and names summer learning loss among its priorities |
| Evidence of need | The district reports that 38% of second graders at the target school read below grade level |
| Project in outline | Six weeks of daily reading sessions for 40 children, led by two certified teachers and eight trained volunteers |
| Relevant result | At the first site last summer, 31 of 36 participants held or improved their reading level between June and September |
| Budget context | Total project cost $41,000, with $16,000 already committed by a local business and the school district |
| Close | An invitation to discuss the project, with the executive director named as the contact |
Mistakes to avoid
- Saving the ask for the last paragraph. A reader who does not know the amount until page two has been guessing all the way through. State it in the first sentence so the rest of the letter is read in context.
- Sending a shortened proposal. Cutting a ten-page proposal down to two pages usually leaves ten topics covered thinly. Write the letter fresh around the three screening questions instead.
- Ignoring the funder form or limit. Many funders now take inquiries through an online form with character limits. Draft to the limit rather than pasting a letter that gets truncated mid-sentence.
- Following up too often. Repeated chasing does not speed up a board cycle. One follow-up after the stated response period is courteous, and more than that can count against you.
Letter of Inquiry Template FAQs
How long should a letter of inquiry be?
Two pages is the usual expectation unless the funder says otherwise, and many portals impose a character limit instead. Where a limit exists, treat it as the specification rather than the maximum.
Should the letter of inquiry name an amount?
Usually yes. A funder screening letters is deciding whether the request is in their range, and leaving the amount out makes that decision harder rather than more open.
What happens after a letter of inquiry?
The common outcomes are an invitation to submit a full proposal, a decline, or a request for a conversation. An invitation is not a decision, and the full proposal is still competitive.
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