When applying for a grant with a foundation, the applicant must write a letter of intent as the first step in the application process. These letters can be presented to a foundation by use of the USPS, email, or through an application link on the foundation’s website.

After review, if the foundation likes the proposal the applicant will receive an invite to present a full proposal for their project. Prior to writing the letter of intent, applicants should have their project well planned with a precise budgetary amount determined.

When introducing a project for purposes of receiving a grant, the intent letter needs to clearly state what the project is about and give a summary of the expected results of the project as well as clearly state what the anticipated cost of the overall project will be thus giving the foundation a firm figure of what the applicant will be requesting should the foundation invite the applicant to give a full proposal of the project.

Prior to writing a letter of intent for grant purposes, applicants should spend time researching the foundation they intent to approach for a grant. Studying the foundation’s website can give insight on what the foundation’s goals and missions are. An applicant can also study a foundation’s website for its annual report which sets the guidelines for grants as well as reveals a list of grants given. The following steps will demonstrate the best techniques to use when writing a letter of intent for grant.

Your opening paragraph is your summary statement. This is your most important paragraph of the letter because it should be able to stand alone and reveal to the reader exactly what it is you’re asking. Although you want to keep this paragraph short, you want to make sure it answers the following questions,

1. What is the purpose of the project and how is it beneficial to the foundation?
2. How much money is being requested via grant?
3. How soon is the money being requested and over what period of time is the funding requested?

Your next paragraph or two is when the applicant gets into all of the details of what the project is about and what issues it addresses. Be sure to list what the benefits of completing the project are and describe how the project will be carried out. If other organizations will be involved in the project, the applicant should disclose the information to the foundation describing what their roles are in the project.

The next section of the letter will describe the specific outcome expected to obtain from the project. The applicant should describe how the project will be evaluated. Next, the applicant should list any credentials applicable to the project. By doing so the applicant demonstrates to the foundation why their staff is best suited to carry out the project. The applicant also wants to get into detail regarding the budget for the project. This paragraph should be a detailed description of what the funding needs are and what the total amount requested will be.

Finally, the applicant should include a closing paragraph. In this paragraph an applicant can include any extra information that may be persuasive in obtaining an invite from a foundation to proceed with a full presentation of the project. Applicants should be sure to thank the reader for taking the time to read the intent letter for grant. End the paragraph by informing the reader that you are extremely interested in further discussing the project and set a time frame that indicates when the foundation will be contacted. Be sure all contact information for the applicant is included. Letters of Intent should be no more than two pages in length, straight forward, and to the pint of what is being requested and why.