Organizational History

by Cynthia M. Adams, CEO, GrantStation.com

The organization's history should establish both the organization's credibility and its qualifications for receiving funding. Here's a checklist for what needs to be covered in this section of the LOI:

___ Establish who is applying for funds
___ State organizational purpose and goals
___ Describe programs and activities
___ Define clients or constituents
___ Provide evidence of accomplishments
___ Offer quotations and endorsements in support of accomplishments
___ Support qualifications in the area of activity for which funds are sought (e.g., research, training, etc.)

Make references to how the goals of the grantmaker apply to your project and your organization's goals. You may choose to open with a vignette or an excerpt from the press to draw the reader in, if you did not use this technique in your need statement.

In the LOI you won't be able to cover the organizational history in-depth (as you will only have a few paragraphs) so you'll need to summarize all of this information. In the full proposal you can expand...