What is the grant letter of inquiry form template?
Many foundations ask for a short letter of inquiry before they invite a full proposal. The letter has to say a lot in little space: who you are, what problem you're addressing, what you'll do, what it will cost, how much you're asking for and why this funder should care. When those pieces are drafted in a shared document, they drift and get lost between versions.
This template structures the content in three pages: the organisation and contact person, the project itself — summary, need, approach, beneficiaries, location, dates and measurable outcomes — and the request, with amount, total budget, type of support, other funding, sustainability and fit with the funder. Help text keeps each section brief and reminds writers to cite sources for the need.
Each completed inquiry is saved as a PDF in your FileIt vault, giving your team a record of what was sent to each funder and a starting point for the next one.
- Best for
- Nonprofits, charities, community groups and development staff
- Filled in by
- A development officer, grant writer or programme lead
- Time to complete
- About 30-45 minutes with the project details to hand
- Includes
- Organisation profile, project narrative sections, budget and amount requested, funder-fit section, attachments and approval
Who uses a grant letter of inquiry form?
- A development officer drafting several inquiries to family foundations
- A programme lead giving the grant writer the project details in a consistent format
- A small charity applying to a community foundation for the first time
- A board reviewing and approving inquiries before they're sent
- A fiscally sponsored project preparing an inquiry with its sponsor
Questions on this grant letter of inquiry form
31 questions over 3 pages · includes file upload, multiple pages.
1 Organisation
- Organisation name*
- Legal status* Registered charity · Nonprofit corporation · Community interest company · Fiscally sponsored project · Faith organisation · Unincorporated group · Other
- Registration or tax ID number
- Website
- Annual operating budget*
- Mission statement*
- Contact person*
- Job title
- Email*
- Phone
2 The project
- Funder you're writing to*
- Funding programme or priority area
- Funder's deadline for inquiries
- Project title*
- Project summary*
- The need or problem*
- Your approach*
- Who will benefit, and roughly how many*
- Where the work happens
- Project dates
- Expected outcomes and how you'll measure them*
3 Request & fit
- Amount requested*
- Total project budget*
- Type of support* Project or programme · General operating · Capital · Capacity building · Multi-year
- Other funding secured or requested for this project
- How the work will continue after the grant
- Why this is a good fit for this funder*
- Previous relationship with this funder None · We've spoken before · We've applied before · We've been funded before
- Supporting documents, if the funder asks for them
- Approved by (executive director or board)
- Date approved
The grant letter of inquiry form, page by page
1 Organisation
The writer enters the organisation name, legal status, registration or tax ID number, website, annual operating budget and mission statement, then the contact person's name, job title, email and phone.
2 The project
A page description reminds writers that many funders limit a letter of inquiry to two or three pages. They name the funder, its programme and its deadline for inquiries, give a project title and a two-or-three-sentence "Project summary", then describe the need — with a prompt to cite sources — and their approach.
Shorter fields record who will benefit and roughly how many, where the work happens and the project dates, and "Expected outcomes and how you'll measure them" closes the page.
3 Request & fit
The amount requested and the total project budget sit side by side, followed by the type of support — project, general operating, capital, capacity building or multi-year. Writers note other funding secured or requested and how the work will continue afterwards, then explain "Why this is a good fit for this funder". They record any previous relationship with the funder, attach supporting documents if asked, and note who approved the inquiry and when.
Make the template yours
- Change the currency to match the funders you apply to
- Tighten the character limits to the word counts a particular funder sets
- Add the funder's own required headings if they publish an inquiry format
- Add a word-count reminder to each section's help text
- File each inquiry into a folder per funder in your vault
- Turn on notifications to your director so they know a draft is ready for approval
Tips for a better grant letter of inquiry form
- Read the funder's guidelines first and mirror their language in the fit section
- Lead the summary with the change you'll make, not the history of your organisation
- Use figures for the need only from sources you can name
- Make sure the amount requested is consistent with the total budget and other funding
- Keep the PDFs — past inquiries are the fastest way to write the next one
Every response becomes a PDF in your vault
When the inquiry is submitted, FileIt saves it as a PDF in your vault with any attached documents and emails a notification, so a reviewer can read and approve it before it goes to the funder.
All inquiries appear in the form's Responses table, where you can see which funders have been approached and export the list to a CSV for your grants calendar.
- Start from this template. It opens in the FileIt Forms designer — change any question, add pages, set the rules for when questions appear.
- Share it. Turn on a public link, or send it to people by email, each with their own link. They don’t need a FileIt account.
- Get the answers as PDFs. Each response is saved as a PDF in the vault folder you choose, with uploaded files attached — and listed in a Responses table you can export to CSV.
Grant letter of inquiry form: frequently asked questions
Is the grant letter of inquiry template free?
Yes. It's included in FileIt Forms on every plan, and every section can be edited.
Does this send the letter to the funder?
No. It collects and saves the content as a PDF for your team. You send the letter to the funder in the way they ask, usually by email or through their portal.
What's the difference between a letter of inquiry and a grant application?
A letter of inquiry is a short first approach that a funder uses to decide whether to invite a full proposal. FileIt also has a full grant application template.
Can several people contribute?
Each submission is one complete inquiry. A programme lead can fill in the project page and share the PDF with the writer, or you can send personal links to whoever drafts each inquiry.
Can we attach a budget?
Yes. Up to five supporting documents — PDF, Word or Excel — can be attached.
Can I change the currency?
Yes. The three money questions use US dollars by default, and the currency can be changed in the designer.