How to Write a Letter of Inquiry That Gets You Invited to Apply

Most foundations don't want to read your full proposal. They want a 1–2 page pitch that lets them decide whether you're worth a longer conversation, and they want it before you spend forty hours on the real application. That pitch is a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), and it is the most leveraged document in grant writing. Get it right and you're invited to apply formally. Get it wrong and the full proposal you would have written never gets read.

This guide walks through what an LOI actually is, the five sections every winning LOI has, the three mistakes that quietly kill them in paragraph two, and a template you can adapt today.

What an LOI actually is (and isn't)

A Letter of Inquiry is a 1–2 page letter many private foundations require before they'll consider a full proposal. It's sometimes called a Letter of Intent, a concept paper, or a pre-proposal — different name, same job: screen out misaligned requests cheaply before either side invests serious time.

It is not a cover letter, a thank-you note, or a casual ask. It's a tightly written, evidence-based pitch that signals two things to the program officer: that your work fits this funder's priorities, and that your organization can actually deliver on it.

If your LOI gets a yes, the foundation will invite you to submit a full proposal. If it gets a no, you've saved a week of writing on a funder who was never going to fund you. Both outcomes are wins compared to writing a full proposal in the dark.

Why funders use LOIs in the first place

Foundations get many more requests than they fund. Reading a full proposal takes a program officer 30–60 minutes; reading an LOI takes five. By requiring an LOI, a foundation can triage hundreds of prospects in the time it would take to read a dozen full proposals.

That dynamic shapes how you should write yours. A program officer is not your roommate; they will not read carefully. They are scanning for three things — fit, capacity, and clarity — and if any of the three isn't obvious in the first paragraph, your LOI lands in the “decline” pile.

The five-section structure of a winning LOI

Every well-built LOI has the same five sections in roughly the same order. Treat them like a checklist; if one is missing, your LOI is weaker than the next one in the program officer's queue.

1. The opening hook (one paragraph)

Lead with one specific, vivid sentence that names the problem you work on and the population you serve. Then, in a second sentence, name the funder by their priority — the language from their website, not yours. Don't bury the lede with introductions and pleasantries.

Weak: “Sunrise Community Services is pleased to introduce ourselves to the Smith Family Foundation. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving the greater Philadelphia region.”
Strong: “Forty-three percent of K–5 students in West Philadelphia public schools are reading below grade level. Sunrise Community Services tutors 600 of them every week. We're writing because the Smith Family Foundation's focus on early literacy in underinvested neighborhoods aligns with the work we do daily.”

2. The need (one paragraph)

Describe the problem with two pieces of evidence: one number that establishes the scale, and one specific story or example that establishes the texture. The number proves you've done the homework. The story proves you actually work in this neighborhood with these people. Use sources the funder will recognize (federal data, peer- reviewed research, your own program data) — vague claims read as bluster.

3. Your approach and your organization (one to two paragraphs)

Briefly describe what you actually do — the program model, who runs it, and the outcomes you track. This is also where you establish capacity: years operating, scale (number served, budget size), and one or two previous results that prove you can deliver. Don't list every program you run; pick the one that matches the funder's priority and lean into it.

4. The ask (one paragraph)

Be specific. Three things must be unambiguous: the dollar amount you want, the time period it covers, and what it pays for. “We're seeking $75,000 over 12 months to expand our literacy tutoring program to two additional schools, reaching an additional 220 students” is good. “We're seeking funding to support our work” is not.

If the foundation publishes a typical grant range, ask inside it. Asking for $250,000 from a funder whose median grant is $40,000 signals you haven't done basic research. Asking for $20,000 when you actually need $200,000 signals lack of conviction. Both kill LOIs.

5. The close (two to three sentences)

Offer next steps and contact info. Express willingness to provide additional materials, take a call, or host a site visit. Sign with a named human being — preferably the executive director, occasionally the board chair if the funder values board engagement. Don't close on thanks; close on momentum.

Three mistakes that kill LOIs in paragraph two

Mistake 1: Burying the alignment

If a program officer can't tell, by the second sentence, why your organization fits this foundation, you've lost them. Generic LOIs that read like they were sent to twenty other funders are easy to spot and easy to decline.

Mistake 2: Asking for unrestricted operating support without a relationship

General operating support is the most flexible kind of grant and the rarest. Foundations almost never give it to organizations they don't already have a relationship with. If you're writing your first LOI to a funder, ask for a specific project, not for general support.

Mistake 3: Soft asks

“We would welcome any level of support” is a soft ask, and soft asks read as either insecure or lazy. Pick a number, justify it briefly, and let the funder push back if they want to.

A template you can adapt today

This is a working skeleton, not a script. Replace every bracketed item with something specific to your organization and the funder you're writing to. Total length, including letterhead: 1.5 pages.

[Date]

[Program Officer Name]
[Title]
[Foundation Name]
[Address]

Dear [Name],

[ONE-SENTENCE NEED + ONE-SENTENCE ALIGNMENT.]
[E.g., "Forty-three percent of K–5 students in West Philadelphia
public schools are reading below grade level. Because the Smith
Family Foundation funds early literacy in underinvested
neighborhoods, we're writing to request your support for a
program that has tutored 600 of those students every week for
the past four years."]

THE NEED
[One paragraph: one number that establishes scale, one example
that establishes texture. Cite a source the funder will trust.]

OUR APPROACH
[One to two paragraphs: what you do, who runs it, the outcomes
you track. Lead with the program that matches the funder's
priority. Show capacity: years operating, scale, one or two
previous results.]

OUR ASK
[One paragraph: dollar amount, time period, and what it pays
for. Be specific. E.g., "We are seeking $75,000 over 12 months
to extend our literacy tutoring to two additional schools,
reaching an additional 220 students by spring 2027."]

NEXT STEPS
[Two to three sentences. Offer to share additional materials,
take a call, or host a site visit. Provide direct contact info.]

Sincerely,

[Name]
[Title]
[Email] · [Phone]
[Organization name] · [Website]

How long it should take (and what to do when it doesn't)

A first-draft LOI that you write from scratch typically takes two to three hours. The research that goes into it (reading the funder's 990, recent grants, program priorities, site, and last annual report) takes another two to three. So a real LOI, written cold, is most of a working day.

That math is why most nonprofits underapply: there are 17,000+ funding opportunities open at any given time, and four to six hours per LOI means most teams write five or six a year. The leverage point isn't writing faster — it's writing more LOIs only to funders who are actually a fit, and reusing the parts that don't need to change.

How to know if your LOI is ready to send

Before you send any LOI, run it past these four checks:

• The 30-second test. Hand the LOI to someone unfamiliar with your work. After 30 seconds, can they tell you what you do, who you serve, what you're asking for, and why this funder? If they can't, the program officer won't either.
• The funder-language test. Find at least two phrases in your LOI that use the funder's own language about their priorities. If everything in your LOI is in your words rather than theirs, you've written about yourself instead of about the fit.
• The number test. The LOI should contain at least three specific numbers: the scale of the problem, your scale of impact, and your ask. A number-free LOI reads as a marketing brochure.
• The deadline test. If the foundation has a deadline, send it at least three business days before. LOIs received in the last 24 hours are read in the last 24 hours, and that pile is the most ruthlessly triaged of all.

The bottom line

A great LOI does one job: it earns the right to send a real proposal. It is short, specific, evidence-based, and written in the funder's language. It opens with the alignment, names a real number, and signs off on momentum.

If you only ever change one habit about how you approach grants, make it this: never write a full proposal for a funder you haven't first qualified with an LOI. The hours you save are hours you can spend on the proposals most likely to win.