How to Submit a Letter of Inquiry
The first step in applying to the foundation is a short letter of inquiry (“LOI”) in PDF format, submitted as an attachment using our LOI Submission Form. LOI’s should be no longer than two pages, and should minimally address the following:
A brief statement of the issues to be addressed and the organization’s involvement with these issues
A brief summary of the activities for which you are requesting support, including an outline of your objectives, and anticipated outcomes and implications
Approximate start date and duration that the funding will cover
The total amount of funding needed, the amount requested, and information about other sources of support
Contact information including telephone and email for questions regarding the LOI
The foundation prefers to receive LOI’s via its online grant process, although paper copies will also be accepted. We try to acknowledge the receipt of all letters of inquiry. If you do not receive a response to your LOI within two weeks after submitting, feel free to contact the Foundation.
All letters of inquiry are first reviewed to determine if they fall within the foundation’s grant guidelines. Those that do not are immediately declined. Letters that are within the guidelines are then reviewed to determine the following:
Priority of the proposed activities within the foundation’s goals
Impact of the likely results of the activities
Competing needs of other applicants
If, based on the letter of inquiry, the project appears to match our funding criteria and priorities, the applicant may be invited to submit a full proposal. Applicants that are not invited will also be notified. An applicant should not submit a formal grant proposal until an invitation to do so is received.
We receive many more solicited grant proposals than we can fund. The invitation to submit a formal grant proposal does not mean that funding will be approved.