Our expert grant management services have enabled clients to secure funding from private foundations along with city, state, and federal agencies who support small business, education, community development, social service, mentoring, and housing initiatives.
Types of Grant Proposals
Depending on the grant, funding proposals can come in a few main formats. It is important to make sure that a grant proposal includes everything the grant requires, exactly as written. If a proposal doesn’t meet all of the requirements, it may be disqualified automatically, even if an idea is sound. Here are three of the most common types of grant proposals we provide on behalf of our clients.
Letter of Inquiry (LOI)
A letter of inquiry is the most direct way to reach out to a foundation with a grant proposal and find out if they are interested before investing your time in creating a full proposal. It is usually two or three pages and summarizes the project you want to be funded. LOI’s are customized for each specific grant in which we apply, and detailed based on what is being requested by the grantor.
Letter Proposal
Although they sound similar, an LOI and a letter proposal are not interchangeable when it comes to grant writing. Whereas an LOI is simply introducing a grant proposal to an organization, a letter proposal is a more succinct version of a full funding proposal. Some corporations aren’t interested in soliciting a lengthy grant proposal and instead, choose to request a letter proposal. These are usually three or four pages and should cover everything included in a full grant proposal, including the amount of money you’re asking for.
Full Proposal
A full proposal is what is typically associated with grant writing. Depending on the detail required by each grant proposal, full proposals can be up to 25 pages. A full proposal It is a more formal approach to grant writing and goes into detail about your project, the amount of money you’re requesting, what you intend to do with the funds and how you plan to make it happen.