July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

How to Write a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) for Grant Funding

Many foundations don't accept full proposals from organizations they don't know. Instead, they ask for a letter of inquiry (LOI) — sometimes called a letter of intent or concept note — a short document that lets them decide whether to invite a full application. For small nonprofits this is actually good news: an LOI takes a fraction of the time a full proposal does, and it stops you from spending forty hours on a funder who was never going to say yes. But it also means the LOI has one job, and only one job: get invited to apply.

LOI basics: length, format, tone

Unless the funder specifies otherwise, an LOI is one to two pages (roughly 400–800 words), written as a business letter or submitted through the funder's online form. It is not a compressed proposal — it's a preview. You're giving the program officer just enough to see the fit, the plan, and the credibility, and making it easy for them to say "tell us more."

Always check the funder's guidelines first: many specify exact LOI requirements — word counts, questions to answer, attachments. If they do, their format wins over any template, including this one.

The six-part LOI structure

1. Opening: who you are and what you're asking (one paragraph)

Don't warm up — lead with the ask. Name your organization, the project, the amount, and why you're writing to this particular funder:

"I am writing on behalf of Hope Foundation to inquire about support of $25,000 from the Riverside Community Fund for our Reading Partners program, which aligns closely with your stated priority of early-childhood literacy in Riverside County."

That single sentence tells the program officer everything they need to route your letter: who, what, how much, and — critically — that you actually read their priorities.

2. Organization summary (one paragraph)

Two to four sentences: your mission, how long you've operated, who you serve, and one or two credibility markers (people served, results, notable partners). Resist the urge to tell your full origin story — that's for the site visit.

3. The need (one paragraph)

The strongest local statistic you have, plus one or two sentences of human context. In an LOI you don't have room to build an elaborate case — one sharp, well-sourced number does more work than three paragraphs of adjectives.

4. The project (one to two paragraphs)

What you'll do, for whom, over what period, and what will change. Include one or two measurable outcomes — this is what separates a plan from a wish:

"Over 12 weeks, trained volunteer tutors will deliver twice-weekly reading sessions to 60 children at two school sites. We expect at least 70% of participants to improve one full reading level, measured by the district's standard pre/post assessment."

5. Budget snapshot (two to three sentences)

The total project cost, the amount you're requesting from this funder, and — if true — other funding already committed or pending. Co-funding signals stability. No line items in an LOI; save those for the full proposal.

6. Closing: the invitation to invite you (one paragraph)

Thank them, state that you'd welcome the opportunity to submit a full proposal, and offer to provide anything they need. Include a direct contact name, email, and phone. Sign from your executive director or board chair — LOIs carry more weight from leadership.

Five LOI mistakes to avoid

Writing a mini-proposal. Cramming methodology, evaluation frameworks, and budget tables into two pages buries the story. Preview, don't compress.

Burying the ask. If the amount and purpose don't appear until the final paragraph, the program officer has been reading with unanswered questions the whole time.

Generic funder targeting. An LOI that could have been sent to any foundation reads like it was sent to every foundation. One specific sentence about why this funder is worth more than any amount of polish.

Ignoring stated formats. If the funder's portal asks five specific questions with word limits, answer those five questions within those limits — don't paste a generic letter.

No measurable outcome. Even at LOI stage, one concrete number ("60 children," "70% improvement") signals an organization that measures its work.

What happens next

Three outcomes are possible: an invitation to submit a full proposal (the goal), a decline (which just saved you forty hours — thank them and ask if you may stay in touch), or silence. For silence, one polite follow-up email after three to four weeks is appropriate; after that, move your energy to the next funder on your pipeline.

If you're invited to apply, your LOI has already done half the structural work — the organization summary, need, project description, and outcomes expand naturally into the full proposal sections. Keep everything in one place and reuse it deliberately. That's the workflow GrantEasy is built for: your organization's profile powers both the short answers a funder's LOI form asks for (with word limits respected) and the full six-section proposal when the invitation comes.