Writing the Letter of Inquiry

The purpose of a letter of inquiry is to help you determine whether or not there is a grant available to apply for if your research online has been unyielding. For some grant makers, this is a requisite step in receiving their Request for Proposals. This step helps to weed out those organizations that may not be as serious about receiving the grant or whose programs may not fulfill the mission of the funding organization. Participating in the LOI process will save you time in that you don't need to write a full grant proposal to be rejected, so your LOI should be taken as seriously as a full grant proposal.

To see how the LOI process fits into the larger grant writing process, go here.

Your letter of inquiry should include the following elements:

• Your school's mission statement or statement of purpose. What do you do that other schools don't? Do you provide exemplary arts/science/engineering education? Do you serve a large number of English language learners or at-risk or impoverished students?
• Reason for and amount of request. This includes an overview of the program to be implemented. In what concrete ways does this program tie into your school's mission? What
• Needs that this program will address. Again, be concrete in your measurement of
• Who else will be helping to implement this program? Schools are lucky when it comes to this portion of the letter of inquiry because you have some resources that might be difficult for nonprofits to procure. Think of the natural partnerships you already possess: community organizations, connections that might already exist amongst your staff or parents, parent volunteers, etc. 
• Request an application.
• Budget. The budget you include should be the program budget, not your school's yearly budget. You will need this yearly budget later on in the grant writing process, but not for the LOI.

I highly suggest limiting this letter to one page, if possible, but 2-3 is the maximum. It should be formatted like a normal business letter, including the school's name, address, contact name, contact numbers and emails in the "sender's address." Use your school's letterhead and make sure the letter looks professional.

You letter of inquiry should fulfill the three following goals:

• You want to convince the funding organization to consider your request. What need is your program filling? How would it impact the lives of the students you serve if they have/don't have this program? Avoid the sob story, but speak in terms of quantifiable facts that people care about. Don't try to make the funder feel bad, but make them care about your students as much as you do.
• You want to provide a snapshot of your school. What kind of community does it reside in? Why is their support necessary? What are you doing for your students that no one else is doing? What kind of students do you serve? If Hollywood were to make your school into a movie, what are key attributes movie-makers would have to include to be true to your school culture? Think in terms of an "elevator speech." How would you sum up your school to someone if you only had the length of an elevator ride to do so?
• You want to create a favorable impression of your school. Put a positive spin on the negatives. Don't say "Last year, we had two school shootings and a bomb threat," but rather "Our students need x intervention program so they can feel safe in school."

If you've included the necessary information, achieved the aforementioned goals and fulfill the necessary funding requirements, you should be well on your way to receiving funding for your program. Once you receive approval from the funding organization, you're ready to begin writing your grant proposal.