Crafting a well-structured Letter of Inquiry (LOI) is essential for capturing the attention of funders and effectively conveying the significance of your project.
Here are some expert tips to help you structure your LOI for maximum impact:
1. Hook Your Readers From the Start
For any reading material to be interesting, it is important to attract your readers’ interest and hook them from the start. For your Letter of Inquiry also, it is important to start strong to captivate the readers’ interest and encourage them to continue reading.
Instrumentl expert Margit advises against using generic mission statements that fail to engage readers. She elaborates, “You look at your organization's mission, and you say, oh, you start yawning. You're like, ‘This mission is so boring. I don't even know what it means.’ If that's the case, don't use it.”
“If your organization's mission statement lacks excitement, consider alternative approaches.”
Instead, grant writing expert Meredith Noble suggests employing a "Tangible Transformation Sentence" to succinctly convey your organization's impact and mission.
For example, “Our program helps low-income families gain access to affordable housing, enabling them to live in safety and dignity.”
This brief sentence clearly defines who your target group is, what you do, and the specific problem you solve. It should be precise and directly reflect your mission, without the use of generic terms.
2. Put “The Ask” In The Middle
According to Margit, placing your funding request in the middle of your LOI ensures that it receives maximum attention. She says,
“By this point, you already have your reader’s attention and have engaged them with compelling content, making them more receptive to your ask.”
When it comes to your ask, you can either be direct or be a little indirect since it is the first time you’re initiating contact with the funder. Take a look at these examples:
- Direct Ask: “We would like to have you consider a $20,000 grant for X, Y, Z, maybe to support and to double the number of veterans we serve in 2023”.
- Indirect/Implied Ask: "Through our programs, we have been able to make significant strides in addressing issues faced by our community. With your support, we can continue to expand our impact and reach even more individuals in need. We look forward to the opportunity to discuss potential collaboration further and explore how we can work together to create positive change."
Margit suggests that in this section, you should also tell the funders where your existing funding comes from and how important it is to get their support and the partnership.
PRO TIP: According to advice from the University of Massachusetts, your LOI should appear to be a well-thought-out project and “not just a vague exploration of an idea.” Include important elements like a budget in the LOI to demonstrate preparedness and professionalism.
3. Pull-On The Heartstrings in the Final Paragraph
Funders want to know the difference their money is going to make in the community.
Conclude your LOI with a powerful paragraph that highlights your program’s positive impact on the target population. Margit says that this can pull on the heartstrings of your funder due to the emotional aspect of that impact.
She explains,
“Funders are interested in the impact and difference their money is going to make in the community. They're not necessarily interested to know that they are buying a van for your organization or that they are funding 35% of the program at the coordinators' salary for 12 months.”
Emphasizing this, Arnisha also mentions that describing your impact in the Letter of Inquiry shows that you are organized and are connected to the community the grant will serve.
Showcasing impact by narrowing down how exactly the grantor’s funds will help the targeted community also demonstrates that what you’re doing and what you're striving for is unique.
4. Be Mindful of the Length
Keep it concise!
Mark Twain famously said, "I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.", The lesson? Get to the point in your LOIs.
Rather than meandering, a concise letter of inquiry is more likely to capture and maintain the funder’s attention.
Therefore, keep your Letter of Inquiry concise. Respect the funder's time and attention span.
Technically, according to Margit, an LOI should be as long as it needs to be to cover all the important elements of your project. However, she suggests keeping it within 2 pages or less. Any longer than that, and you might lose the funder’s attention.
Arnisha also suggests keeping your LOIs concise. She says,
“Since you're writing an LOI to give a quick snapshot of your organization and mission to a potential funder, stick to one page.”
So use your discretion. Whether one page or two, are you being verbose or concise? Consider handing it to a busy colleague. They’ll let you know pretty quickly if they got the gist, or were frustrated by how much time you took from them.
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