Grant Letter of Inquiry Template: What to Include and What to Leave Out

Most private foundations that accept unsolicited applications use a letter of inquiry as the first filter — and the LOI-to-full-proposal invitation rate at most competitive funders runs between 10 and 30%.

That means the LOI’s job is not to secure the grant. Its job is to clear one gate: convince the program officer that your project is worth reviewing in full.

An LOI that reads like a compressed full proposal fails that test. It confuses the purpose of the document and often violates the page limit, which is itself a disqualifying signal.

What a Letter of Inquiry Is and When It Is Required

A letter of inquiry is a pre-application screening document. It exists because foundations receive more requests than they can review in full, and the LOI lets program officers quickly identify mission-aligned applicants without reading 15-page proposals from organizations that should not have applied.

Approximately 40% of large private foundations use an LOI-first process, according to Giving USA foundation surveys. Among foundations that do, LOIs are typically required — submitting a full proposal when an LOI is required results in automatic rejection.

An LOI is distinct from two similar documents:

Letter of intent: A letter of intent notifies the funder of your plan to apply. It does not require funder review or a decision — it is a courtesy notice. Federal grant programs sometimes require letters of intent to manage reviewer recruitment and workload. They are not evaluated.

Concept paper: A concept paper is longer than an LOI (typically 3–5 pages) and includes more program detail. Some foundations use “concept paper” and “LOI” interchangeably, but when distinguished, the concept paper is closer to a mini-proposal.

Check the funder’s guidelines carefully before labeling what you submit. Using the wrong term signals unfamiliarity with the funder’s process.

The Three-Page Format Most Funders Expect

When a funder does not specify LOI length, three pages is the outer limit. Two pages is safer. The sections that belong in a two-to-three page LOI:

• Opening (organizational credibility): 1–2 sentences
• Problem statement: 1 paragraph
• Program description (activities, target population, timeline): 2–3 paragraphs
• Budget overview: 2–4 sentences
• The ask: 1 sentence
• Closing and next steps: 1–2 sentences

What does not belong in the LOI:

• Full evaluation methodology
• Staff biographical sketches
• Detailed work plan or Gantt chart
• Financial statements
• List of board members
• Extensive organizational history

These belong in the full proposal. Including them in the LOI suggests the writer could not distinguish what the filter stage requires.

Opening: Establishing Organizational Credibility in Two Sentences

The LOI opening establishes who you are and why you are credible to address the problem. It does not establish your history, your founding story, or your organizational mission statement.

Two sentences that work: “The Southeast Dallas Community Health Center has operated federally qualified health center (FQHC) services in Southeast Dallas since 2009, serving 14,000 uninsured and Medicaid-eligible patients annually across three clinical sites. We are applying to [Foundation Name]‘s Health Access grant program to expand our behavioral health integration pilot from one to three clinical sites over 24 months.”

Two sentences that do not work: “Southeast Dallas Community Health Center is a committed nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of underserved communities. We believe that healthcare is a human right and that every person deserves access to quality care regardless of their ability to pay.”

The first version establishes scale, program type, population, and funding eligibility in two sentences. The second says nothing verifiable.

Problem Statement: Calibrated to the Funder’s Stated Priorities

Read the funder’s guidelines before writing the problem statement. Not the about page — the current-cycle guidelines that describe what the funder is trying to accomplish with this grant program.

If the funder states they are prioritizing “behavioral health integration in primary care settings,” your problem statement should describe the gap in behavioral health access within primary care, quantified in the geography you serve. If the funder’s priorities describe “upstream prevention” and your program is clinical treatment, your problem statement cannot bridge that gap regardless of how well it is written. The LOI will be declined.

The problem statement belongs to the community, not the organization. Frame the problem as a condition experienced by the population, not as a need the organization has for funding: “32% of adults in Southeast Dallas report delaying mental health care due to cost, compared to 19% citywide” (Dallas County Community Health Needs Assessment, 2024), not “our organization needs funding to expand our behavioral health program.”

Two to three sentences, one cited data point, direct connection to the funder’s stated priority.

Program Description: Enough Detail to Invite a Full Proposal

The LOI program description gives reviewers enough to evaluate mission alignment and feasibility — not enough to evaluate implementation quality.

Cover four things:

1. The core intervention (what will you actually do, in plain terms)
2. The target population (who, how many, what geography)
3. The expected outcome (what will change for participants, quantified if possible)
4. The timeline (how long will the project run)

Two paragraphs is sufficient. A third paragraph can address why your organization is the right one to do this — prior experience, community relationships, existing infrastructure — but only if the funder’s priorities include capacity considerations.

Do not include staff names, detailed evaluation methodology, or activity-level timelines. If the funder invites a full proposal, those details belong there.

Budget: The Right Level of Specificity for an LOI

The LOI budget section is a summary, not a line-item budget. It answers two questions: how much are you requesting, and how will the money be used in broad categories?

The standard LOI budget summary: “We are requesting $150,000 over 24 months to support one full-time behavioral health integration coordinator (60% of budget), clinical co-location costs at two additional sites (25%), and program evaluation (15%). The total project budget is $210,000; the remaining $60,000 will be covered by existing FQHC Health Center Fund revenue.”

This level of detail is sufficient. A line-item budget in an LOI is out of scope and signals the writer misread the document type. It also invites premature cost scrutiny before the program officer has decided the project is worth evaluating.

The Ask: How to Name the Dollar Amount Without Anchoring Too High

The ask in a grant LOI is a single sentence that states the request amount and the program it supports.

Name the amount. Vague LOIs that describe a program without stating a dollar request create friction — the program officer cannot evaluate whether the request fits the funder’s grant range.

Check the funder’s typical grant size before naming the amount. Most funders publish their grant range in their guidelines or publicly in their 990 filings. Requesting $500,000 from a funder whose largest recent grant was $75,000 is a fast path to rejection that a 10-minute search could prevent.

The ask: “We are requesting $150,000 to support the 24-month expansion of the behavioral health integration program described above.” That is the full ask section. Do not add justification, urgency framing, or emotional appeals after the dollar amount.

Follow-Up: What to Do After Submission

If the funder permits pre-submission or post-submission contact, a brief follow-up email 4–6 weeks after submission is appropriate. The email should be short: one sentence confirming receipt if you did not receive an automated confirmation, and one sentence noting your availability to answer questions or provide additional information.

Do not call the program officer’s office repeatedly. Do not email board members. Do not submit the LOI and then also email the foundation’s executive director directly.

If you receive an invitation to submit a full proposal, respond within 48 hours with confirmation and a proposed submission date. The invitation letter will specify the deadline and any supplementary requirements. Review those requirements before the confirmation call.

If your LOI is declined, request feedback. Most foundation program officers will provide brief written feedback on declined LOIs if asked politely. “Would you be willing to share one or two reasons the project was not a fit at this time?” is a question many program officers answer. The feedback shapes your next submission to this funder or your decision about whether to reapply.

See the grant LOI guide for how LOIs fit into the annual grant calendar and how to manage multiple LOI deadlines simultaneously. See the grant proposal writing guide for how to translate an invited LOI into a full competitive proposal.

DEFINITION

Letter of inquiry (LOI)

A 1–3 page document submitted to a funder before a full grant proposal, used by the funder to screen applications for mission alignment and basic eligibility before investing review time in full proposals. Some funders use LOIs as the sole screening mechanism; others use them as an eligibility filter before inviting full proposals. LOIs are distinct from letters of intent (which notify a funder of intent to apply and do not require funder review or decision).

DEFINITION

Program officer

The foundation or agency staff member responsible for reviewing applications, managing grantee relationships, and recommending funding decisions to foundation leadership or board. Program officers are the primary contact for applicants throughout the LOI and proposal process. Building a relationship with the program officer before submitting an LOI — if the funder permits pre-submission contact — improves alignment between the LOI and funder priorities.