How to Write a Cover Letter for Your Grant Proposal An Invitation to Read the Proposal

When Do You Include a Cover Letter?

Use a cover letter for proposals to corporations and foundations, but not on federal or state grant applications. Those funders only want the things they ask for. They rarely ask for a cover letter.
Attributes of a Good Cover Letter

Your cover letter should be:

* brief
* get to the point quickly
* should not simply repeat the information that is in the proposal
* should tell the reader how well you understand the funder and how your grant fulfills the funder's requirements

Beverly A. Browning, author of Grant Writing for Dummies, suggests that you write the cover letter after you've completed the entire proposal, and when you are in a reflective mood. Browning says:

"As you consider your great achievement (the finished funding request), let the creative, right side of your brain kick in and connect your feelings of accomplishment to the person who will help make your plans come true."
Formatting Your Cover Letter

Follow these basics and you can't go wrong:

1. Use your organization's letterhead. Put the same date on the cover letter that is on the completed grant application. That is the date the application will be sent to the grantor. This will make all the documents in your proposal package consistent.
2. For the inside address (goes at top of letter)use the foundation or corporate contact person's name and title, followed by the funding source's name, address, city, state, and zip code. Double check this information with a telephone call or an email. Such information changes frequently, so make sure you have the current name and address.
3. In your salutation, use "Dear" plus the personal title (Mr., Ms., Mrs.,Dr., Messrs., etc), followed by the last name. It is very important that the letter be to a particular person. Call the foundation or corporate office to make sure you have the right person and the right personal title. These things may seem like minutiae, but success can turn on attention to such details.
4. Your first paragraph should be short and focused. Introduce your organization (its legal name) and tell the funder how much money you are requesting and why. Include a sentence or two about what your organization does, and then include one research-based point that shows there is a need for what your organization does.
5. Write one or two more paragraphs that are very brief and succinct. State your organization's purpose and how it fits with the funder's mission or funding priorities. Include the fact that your board of directors is in full support of the project.
6. End your letter with a final, summarizing paragraph. Include a thought about what this funding partnership can mean for your project's target audience.
7. Use a closing such as "Sincerely."
8. The letter should be signed by the executive director or the board president, or both. Below the signature, type the signer's fist name, middle initial, last name, and job title. Although the ED or board president should sign the letter, the contact person's name and contact information can be included at the end of the last paragraph.
9. At the bottom of the letter, include the word, "ENCLOSURE" (in all caps).

How Long Should the Cover Letter Be?
Most experts suggest that your cover letter be limited to one page with three or four paragraphs maximum. Since the reader has an entire proposal to plow through, you don't want to make him or her impatient by having to read a long cover letter.

Sample for reference

Mary Smith, PhD
Program Officer
Community Foundation
4321 Common Lane
Some City, YZ 55555

Dear Dr. Smith:

The Some City Senior Center is respectfully requesting a grant in the amount of $50,000 for our Senior Latino Community Outreach Pilot Project. As the largest senior center in Any County, serving over 450 seniors every day, we are conscious of the changing demographics in our service area, and are committed to growing and adapting our center to meet emerging needs. The Senior Latino Community Outreach Pilot Project will allow us to pilot a one-year effort to determine if our center can effectively (1)provide comprehensive access to health and social services to seniors in the Latino communities served by our center, and (2)raise and fully integrate the cultural competency of the board, staff, and volunteers of the Some City Senior Center.

Our board of directors is enthusiastic about this program and eager to launch it in an effort to be the most inclusive, and culturally competent center for seniors in all of our communities that need these services. Should we find at the end of our pilot year that this program is in fact successful, our board is committed to integrating a portion of the project's yearly expenses into our annual operating budget so that the program becomes an integral part of our core services.

Through this project, the center will serve as the primary referral given by Health Access Latinos, Families of Any County, and three community clinics within a fifteen-mile radius of our center. We will also take referrals of Spanish-speaking seniors from any other community agency in our immediate service area.

Thank you for your consideration of our request. I will follow up with you in the next week to answer any questions you might have, as well as to learn whether there is a possibility of meeting with you to discuss the merits of our proposal. Should you have any questions in the interim, please feel free to contact Connie Jones, our Director of Development, at (555) 555-5555, x555, or cjones@scsc.org.

Sincerely,

Jane Lovely
Executive Director

Source: By Joanne Fritz, About.com Guide