How to write a Letter of Intent (LOI)

Last week we posted some suggestions for writing a white paper, and I wanted to continue this mini-series on different types of pre-proposals. This week, let's look at how to write a Letter of Intent (LOI). LOIs are generally brief pre-proposals that are requested by a foundation. The foundation reviews the brief LOIs and requests full proposals from those groups who submitted the best projects. This culls the best ideas and limits the number of full proposals the foundation needs to review.

Just like you must do for white papers, your LOI should respond to the needs of the funding agency to be most competitive. Also, if the agency offers you guidelines to use for the LOI, use them! Aside from this, as the name implies, the LOI should be short (letter length) and it should give a brief and compelling overview of your project. It should be written for the layperson and should be written in the first person and in active voice.

If the funding agency does not specify guidelines for an LOI, UMassAmherst recommends the following format:

Summary Statement: Give a summary of your project, what it is, what need it meets, and how much you're asking for.

Statement of Need: Why is this project important?

Project Activity: What will the project entail?

Outcomes: What do you expect to achieve?

Credentials: Why are you and your team the best team to do this work?

Budget: How much are you asking for and briefly what will the money be used for?

Closing: Briefly return to why this project is important and offer your vision. Give any final contact information and offer to answer any questions they may have.

Signature: Make sure you know who is designated to send LOIs on behalf of the university to a particular agency (sometimes an Advancement Officer is the liaison for an agency and LOIs must go through him or her).

LOIs are your opportunity to pique the interest of funders. Once you are invited to submit a proposal, you are already competing with a much smaller pool of applicants. So, always make sure your project aligns with the agency's needs and mission and pitches your project clearly and succinctly.

Resources:
Guidelines for a Letter of Intent - UMassAmherst
How to Write a Winning LOI - Grant Writer Team