Non-ProfitFree
Letter of Inquiry Writer for Grants
Describe your program and name the foundation. Get a tight letter of inquiry within the funder's limit, built to earn an invitation to apply.
River's letter of inquiry writer drafts the short letter many foundations ask for before they invite a full proposal. You describe the program and name the funder. River finds or reads that funder's inquiry instructions, writes to the elements they request, and keeps within their page or word limit. The result is a finished letter on the page, addressed to the right person when you know them, with any missing fact flagged rather than filled with a guess.
Templates for this search give you a fill-in-the-blanks letter that reads the same to every funder. An inquiry works differently. It is a screening document, often read in under five minutes, and its only job is to make the program officer want the full proposal. So the draft leads with fit to the funder's priority and puts the ask early. If you are sending one program to several funders with different limits, the letter of inquiry template tracks each version side by side.
This is for development staff and executive directors approaching a foundation for the first time, and for consultants running several inquiries in one season. Use it after you have picked the funder and before you write anything longer. When the invitation arrives, the foundation grant proposal writer expands the same facts into the full application. If the funder skips inquiries and asks for proposals directly, start there instead and keep this letter for the next funder.
What a letter of inquiry has to do in two pages
A letter of inquiry, sometimes called a letter of intent, is a short request a foundation reads before deciding whether to invite a full proposal. Most ask for two or three pages, some for a set number of words in an online form. Within that space the letter must cover who you are, the need, the program, the outcomes expected, the amount requested and how the work is funded overall. Anything else is decoration the program officer will skip.
Order matters because readers stop early. The opening paragraph should name the program, the amount and the funder priority it serves, in one or two sentences. The need comes next, made local and specific. Then describe what you will do and what will change for the people served, followed by the budget picture and a direct line about next steps. A closing that names a contact person and invites a call is more useful than a paragraph of thanks.
Research the funder before writing a single sentence. Guidelines tell you what a foundation says it wants, and its tax filings tell you what it actually paid. Private foundations file Form 990-PF each year, and the IRS publishes copies of exempt organization returns filed since 2018. Three years of grants show the usual award size and the kinds of groups funded. Ask within that range, and say why this funder rather than any funder.
How it works
Describe the program
Paste notes or attach a summary covering what you do, who it serves and the amount needed.
Name the foundation
Add the funder and its inquiry instructions, or just the name and River looks them up.
River writes the letter
The letter follows the funder's elements and limit, using your facts and flagging anything still missing.
Adjust in chat
Shorten it, change the ask, or adapt the same letter for another foundation with different rules.
What you get
- A finished letter of inquiry written to this foundation's stated elements, order and length limit
- An opening that states the program, the amount and the funder priority in two sentences
- A local need statement and outcomes drawn only from the facts you supplied
- A word or page count against the funder's limit, with what was cut to fit
- Flagged gaps, such as a missing budget total or contact name, with the question to answer
- A short note on how well the program fits this funder, with anything that looks off
Common questions
How long should a letter of inquiry be?
As long as the funder allows and no longer. Most foundations ask for two or three pages, and online forms often set a word or character limit instead. River writes to the stated limit and reports the count. If the funder gives no limit, the draft stays at two pages, which is the length most program officers expect.
Is a letter of inquiry the same as a letter of intent?
Usually yes. Foundations use both names for a short request that comes before a full proposal. Some government funders use letter of intent to mean a non-binding notice that you plan to apply, which carries no case for funding at all. If the instructions describe that kind of notice, River writes the brief notice instead.
Should I include the budget?
Include the amount requested and the total program budget, and say where the rest comes from. Most inquiries do not want a line-item budget, and attaching one unasked makes the packet longer, not stronger. When the full proposal is invited, the grant budget narrative writer explains each line.
What if I do not know who to address it to?
Look for a program officer on the funder's website or in its annual report, and call the foundation if neither names one. A letter addressed to a named person is read differently from one addressed to a committee. If no name is supplied, the draft uses the foundation's grants committee and flags the salutation so you can change it.
Can it write one letter for several foundations?
It writes one strong version first, then adapts it in chat for each additional funder, changing the opening, the vocabulary and the length. Sending identical letters is easy to spot. If several funders are involved, the funder research and prospecting template helps rank them before you write anything.
Built by
Chandler Supple
Co-founder & CEO, River
Chandler has spent the last six years working in AI, building tools for millions of users and Fortune 100 companies. In 2025, he co-founded River to build a new kind of operating system for AI agents.
Letter of Inquiry Writer for Grants
Describe what you need, add any files you have, and your workspace opens with the work already underway.