In our acronym crazy world even seasoned grants professionals sometimes need a secret decoder ring to figure out the grant jargon. One of the more confusing acronyms is “LOI”. This three letter tyrant can stand for several different types of grant requirements.
A Letter Of Inquiry is a brief, usually two pages, letter requested in lieu of a full proposal by grant-making institutions as a screening device to determine if the funder might be interested in learning more about your program or project. Sometimes if the program officer or the Board of Trustees like the way you presented your program in your LOI, they will ask you to submit a full proposal with a budget, financial statements and all the other bells and whistles.
Letters Of Interest are typically the same thing as a letter of inquiry. Both terms are used interchangeably.
On a side note, did you know that Duilio Loi {born April 19, 1929) is a retired Italian boxer who held the Italian and European lightweight and welterweight titles, as well as the world junior welterweight championship. Loi fought from 1948 to 1962, and retired with a record of 115 wins (26 KOs), 3 losses and 8 draws.(Interesting fact found at Wikpedia.com ) Alas, I digress; back to grant LOI’s.
A Letter Of Intent is often utilized by federal and state agencies and is a required element of a grant application. Typically the letter of intent is due well before the actual application and lets the particular agency know that you plan on applying for funding under a particular RFP (Here is yet another acronym-this one means Request for Proposals). The primary reason that agencies may require the letter of intent is to try to determine just how many proposals they will receive, therefore ensuring they have enough proposal reviewers to judge your application.
The important thing to remember no matter if you are answering an LOI, or RFP-follow each individual funders specific guidelines and know your grant acronyms.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
More On Following Those Rules
One of the more important yet simple procedures to follow when writing a grant proposal is to follow the funders guidelines explicitly. The majority of grant making organizations have set guidelines that they publish regarding the required contents for each proposal. Find out what those requirements are, get a copy and comb through line by line to make sure you understand what is expected. Many proposals are prematurely tossed out because the author used a 10 point instead of 12 point font.
The instructions for Federal and State proposals can sometimes be almost as long as the proposal itself. Before starting on a complicated proposal- read through the instructions first, then go back and begin to pick each section apart. At this point you will want to determine who on your grant team will be responsible for each required element. You can utilize a software program such as Microsoft Project, keep a running written document with each person’s assignments and deadlines or use a simpler method such as marking up with color coded highlighters.
Many times even small family foundations will have written instructions such as, “As a first step, please submit a two page letter of inquiry explaining the projects goals, objectives and attach a program budget.” You want to follow those instructions to the “T” as well. Do not send a three page summary with your full organizational budget, and your latest glossy annual report. If they need more information they will ask for it.
If the guidelines are non-existent, not clear about what to send and you are unable to contact a person directly at the foundation, then it is best to send less. If you can’t contact someone chances are the organization does not have the resources to read a lengthy proposal. You can send a short letter asking for their written guidelines, or submit a brief one to two page letter outlining your project, making the ask for a certain dollar amount and politely let the organization know you can provide further information should it be required.
The instructions for Federal and State proposals can sometimes be almost as long as the proposal itself. Before starting on a complicated proposal- read through the instructions first, then go back and begin to pick each section apart. At this point you will want to determine who on your grant team will be responsible for each required element. You can utilize a software program such as Microsoft Project, keep a running written document with each person’s assignments and deadlines or use a simpler method such as marking up with color coded highlighters.
Many times even small family foundations will have written instructions such as, “As a first step, please submit a two page letter of inquiry explaining the projects goals, objectives and attach a program budget.” You want to follow those instructions to the “T” as well. Do not send a three page summary with your full organizational budget, and your latest glossy annual report. If they need more information they will ask for it.
If the guidelines are non-existent, not clear about what to send and you are unable to contact a person directly at the foundation, then it is best to send less. If you can’t contact someone chances are the organization does not have the resources to read a lengthy proposal. You can send a short letter asking for their written guidelines, or submit a brief one to two page letter outlining your project, making the ask for a certain dollar amount and politely let the organization know you can provide further information should it be required.
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