Introduction

by Cynthia M. Adams, CEO, GrantStation.com

This section of the LOI introduces the reader to the present situation and can be quite short. The introduction serves as a way of communicating to the potential grantmaker the social, economic, and environmental context of your project or program. It provides the reader with a brief description of your geographic and social situation, with which your reader may be unfamiliar, especially when the grantmaker is from a different region of the country.

Though it may seem backward, it's often beneficial to write the introduction after drafting the need statement and the project narrative. Once those are written, you'll know exactly what general information will most appropriately introduce the reader to the request.

Be aware that the introduction you write for a foundation can be dramatically different from the one you write for a corporate donor. Why?

Because a foundation's interests are going to center on your clientele and the community you serve, as well as on the problem or need you face. And while these issues are also important to a corporate donor, they will also want to know how...