What Is a Letter of Inquiry (and How to Write One)
A letter of inquiry — usually shortened to LOI — is a brief letter that asks a funder whether it would welcome a full proposal from your nonprofit. Many foundations prefer or require an LOI as the first step, and even when one is not required, a short, well-aimed letter is almost always a better opening move than a cold full proposal. It respects the funder's time, and it lets you test fit before either side invests heavily.
→ Find the right funders for your nonprofit — free, no credit cardWhat an LOI is for
An LOI has one job: to get an invitation to submit a full proposal. It is not a proposal in miniature and it is not the place to include everything. It is a screening conversation in letter form — you are giving the funder enough to say 'yes, send us more' or 'this isn't a fit for us,' and either answer saves you weeks.
What goes in it
A strong LOI is usually one to two pages and covers, briefly:
- A one-sentence introduction to your organization and its mission.
- The specific need or problem you are addressing, stated concretely.
- What you propose to do about it, and the result you expect.
- The amount you are requesting and your total project or organizational budget.
- One or two sentences on why this funder, specifically — the connection between their priorities and your work.
- A clear, polite close inviting the next step.
How to make it land
The best LOIs are specific and concrete. 'We serve at-risk youth' tells a funder nothing; 'last year we provided after-school tutoring to 240 students in three Title I schools, and 80 percent improved at least one reading level' tells them everything. Lead with the need and the evidence, not with your organization's history.
Mirror the funder's language. If their materials talk about 'food security,' use 'food security,' not 'hunger relief.' And show you have done your homework — a single accurate sentence about why their giving and your work align does more than a paragraph of generic praise.
Common mistakes
The most common LOI mistakes are length (it drifts into a full proposal), vagueness (no numbers, no specifics), and being funder-blind (the same letter, clearly, to everyone). The second most common is sending an LOI to a funder who does not accept unsolicited contact at all — always check the funder's stated process first.
A decision-ready LOI outline
| Paragraph | Question it answers | Useful proof |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fit | Why should this funder keep reading? | Mission, place, amount, and one specific alignment |
| 2. Need | What is happening, for whom, and how much? | A local statistic plus your direct observation |
| 3. Response | What will you do during the grant period? | Activities, reach, timing, and responsible staff |
| 4. Result | What will be different and how will you know? | One output and one outcome measure |
| 5. Ask | What decision are you requesting? | Amount, project cost, grant use, and next step |
Example of specific instead of generic
Specific: “A $25,000 grant will provide 120 middle-school students in three Paterson schools with 24 weeks of small-group literacy tutoring; we will track attendance and fall-to-spring reading growth.”
Before sending, compare the draft with the funder’s instructions line by line. If the funder asks for a 500-word form response, a polished two-page letter is still the wrong format.
Put this into practice.
Bespoke Grants matches your nonprofit to the foundations most likely to fund it — ranked by fit, with the reasoning shown. Free to start, no credit card.
Find my funders free →Frequently asked questions
- How long should a letter of inquiry be?
- One to two pages. If a funder specifies a length, follow it exactly. Brevity is a feature — the LOI exists to be quick to read.
- What's the difference between an LOI and a grant proposal?
- An LOI asks whether the funder wants a proposal; the proposal is the full request. The LOI is short and high-level; the proposal is detailed, with a full budget, workplan, and evaluation.