One of your key revenue streams for your non profit organization is grant monies. The foundation world can be intimidating to many, so let me outline an easy first step after you find a foundation that has a mission statement that aligns with your organization. Consider introducing your organization through a Letter of Inquiry. A well-written letter of inquiry can be crucial to securing funding for your project. Many foundations now prefer that funding requests be submitted first in letter format instead of a full proposal. Others are using preliminary letters of inquiry to determine if they have an interest in a project before accepting a full proposal. The letter of inquiry opens the door with a foundation for a RFP [request for proposal], and should include the following sections:
The introduction
The organization description
The statement of need
The methodology
Other funding sources
The final summary
I have found the following links to be helpful…
http://grantspace.org/Tools/Knowledge-Base/Funding-Research/Proposal-Writing/Letters-of-inquiry
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/faqs/html/loi.html
What are your suggestions on opening foundation doors through letters of inquiry?
Here are what some other bloggers are saying on the subject:
http://thegrantconnection.wordpress.com/
Thanks for sharing a link to my blog. Good letters of inquiry can make a great first impression.