Cover letter writer

							Cover letter writer


The grant proposal is one of the key instruments for a non-profit to seek financial
grants. However, a professional presentation of a grant proposal requires a good cover
letter be included with it. It may appear to be a small detail, but the devil, as they say,
lies in the details.

The need for a cover letter
When you are writing a grant proposal for a corporate organization or a large charity
foundation, it is a must to include a cover letter. These organizations work in a
professional manner, and they are used to a certain style of functioning. So they
expect a cover letter to be there. However, if you are sending a grant proposal for a
governmental grant, a cover letter is not mandatory. Here you need to include only
such items that have been stipulated by the agencies as a requirement.

How to write a great cover letter
The cardinal rule that distinguishes good from great: brevity. Keep your letter brief
and to the point. Preferably, the length of the letter must not exceed one page, and less
than a page could be even better. The letter must not be repetitive. It should not say
what the recipient is going to read in the grant proposal anyway. It should be sharply
focused on what makes the proposal so compelling that it deserves the attention of the
recipient.

Cover letter format

1. The cover letter must always be printed on your non-profit organization's official
letterhead. The date of the letter must be the same as the date of the completed grant
application.

2. Ensure that you are addressing your letter to the correct person. Double-check on
the name spellings, designation, address, and be sure that the person is holding the
position at the time you are sending the proposal.

3. The letter must be addressed to a specific individual, and not addressed in general
to the organization or a department.

4. The opening paragraph of your letter should provide a brief description of your
non-profit and its mission. It should spell out at the outset itself what scale of grant
you are looking at to fund your mission, and why that grant is critical.

5. In the next paragraph, you should be able to explain how your non-profit's mission
matches with the funding goals and priorities of the funder's organization.

6. Close your letter with a brief paragraph that summarizes your view on how this
proposed alliance between the non-profit and the funder can create a successful
synergy.

7. Sign off with personal signatures in ink, name and designation.