Frequently Asked Questions About Letters of Inquiry

1. What is a letter of inquiry?
   A letter of inquiry (LOI) introduces an organization and requests permission to submit a proposal for a specific funding request. While much less formal and detailed than a full proposal, it provides enough information so that we can determine if a project fits our guidelines and has a reasonable opportunity to win funding if a full proposal is submitted.
2. Who must send a letter of inquiry?
   Any organization that has never been funded by the Mead Family Foundation as well as any organization that has not been funded in the past two years must submit a letter of inquiry.
3. Where can one receive information about LOI requirements and restrictions? In addition to being posted on our web site (http://foundationcenter.org/grantmaker/mead/), Mead Family Foundation guidelines for submission of funding requests can be received through a telephone to 202-338-0398 or by e-mailing meadfoundation@earthlink.net.

Since we revise our guidelines following the final grant cycle of each year, it is important that an organization obtain a new copy of the guidelines before submitting a request.

Publications and websites of other resources can also be useful in finding a foundation whose funding interests match an organization's programs. However, these resources can never replace getting an actual copy of the latest guidelines directly from a foundation because they are generally at least one year out of date.
4. What are the deadlines for LOIs?
   The MFF deadlines are as follows:
   • Fall Cycle: Letters of Inquiry due June 15. (Proposals due September 1. Grant awards will be made in November.)
   • Spring Cycle: Letters of Inquiry due December 15. (Proposals due March 1. Grant awards will be made in May.)

   If these deadlines fall on a day when there is no mail delivery, such as a Sunday or a public holiday, then the deadline will be on the following day. However, we urge you to get your LOI to us well before deadline if at all possible. Because we cannot predict general mail delivery, we emphasize that if an organization is working close to deadline, the LOI should be delivered through over-night mail or a courier. LOIs can also be personally delivered to the desk in the lobby of the Watergate West, which is staffed 24/7. The Watergate West is at 2700 Virginia Ave. NW, Washington, DC.

5. Why do you recommend that an LOI be sent before the deadline?
   All letters of inquiry will be screened in competition, comparing similar programs, to determine which organizations will be invited to submit a full proposal. When an LOI is received several weeks before deadline, we have the opportunity to request further information or even to allow an amended letter if an error is made. However, if a letter is received in the last four or five days before deadline, which is the case with fully half of the LOIs we receive, then all we can do is process the submission "as is."
6. How long is a typical LOI, and what information must it include?
   While the foundation does not have any limitations on the number of pages accepted, LOIs are typically in the range of two to four pages. Guidelines require that an LOI include the following information:
   • a brief introduction to the organization and evidence of its effective delivery of services.
   • a detailed description of a specific program for which funding will be requested.
   • the anticipated total costs of the project and the amount to be requested from MFF in support.
   • confirmation of the organization's tax-exempt status.
7. Can an organization discuss its letter of inquiry with the foundation prior to submission to make sure that it is on the right track?
   Yes! We strongly recommend contacting us before you submit your LOI if you have any questions. Call 202-338-0398 or e-mail meadfoundation@earthlink.net
8. What "fatal errors" lead to an automatic declination of an LOI?
   Not all errors are "fatal." For example, our guidelines state that an organization never before funded by us can request up to $5,000, and an organization previously funded can request up to $10,000. If an organization asks for more than these limits, that kind of error can be amended if there is time before the deadline. However, the following errors lead to automatic declination.
   • a request by an individual
   • a request by an organization that does not have its own tax-exempt status
   • a request for a capital campaign
   • a request that does not state a specific program for which funding is sought (We do not provide general operating support to organizations whom we have never funded.)
   • a request by an organization for work to be done outside our geographical restrictions
   • a request that is outside the program areas on which we focus

9. What are your geographical restrictions?
   We fund in Washington, DC, and Montgomery County, Maryland. Although generally both the organization's location and the work being performed are within those geographical areas, we occasionally fund an organization located elsewhere in the Washington metropolitan area if the site visit for the project would be in Washington, DC, or Montgomery County. We do not fund national programs, and we do not fund national organizations with a local program unless they have an office in this region.

10. What program areas do you fund?
    We fund programs that work with children and their families in four areas:
    • Crisis Prevention for Children and Youth (Within this program area, we serve a wider range of ages than in the Education K-12 program. We fund programs that intervene against dangers that might prevent young people from developing into productive and healthy adults. Programs funded include those designed to prevent violence, drug-abuse, or premature pregnancy, for example. We also fund programs designed to prevent crises such as homelessness or crime involvement in at-risk older youth; or programs that serve young children at risk of neglect or abuse or needing services to recover from traumatic experiences.)
    • Academic Education for Grades K-12 (In this program area, we do not fund pre-kindergarten, college, or adult education. This is the program area in which we receive the most requests and consequently it is also our most competitive program area.)
    • Arts Education (We fund arts education for children and their families. We do not provide production support. This is also a highly competitive program area.)
    • Strengthening Families (Within this area, we fund programs that deal with the relationships of children and their families. We do not fund general economic programs such as housing and adult job training. Examples of programs that we do fund include programs improving parenting skills, programs providing resources for parents of special needs children, and programs providing services to families in crisis as the result of family violence.)

11. How do you screen letters of inquiry?
    Our screening occurs in two phases.
    • First, staff screens all LOIs as they are received to determine whether they fall within our guidelines. Although all requirements and restrictions are clearly stated in our guidelines, about half of the LOIs we receive are declined at this stage. We can only assume that organizations declined at this stage either did not receive a copy of our guidelines or did not read them!
    • Second, LOIs that fall within guidelines are sent to an LOI Screening Committee that meets as soon as possible after each deadline. The committee determines which LOIs will result in an invitation to submit a full proposal. Letters of inquiry are reviewed by comparing similar requests, such as by discussing together all music education programs or all after-school tutoring programs. The committee is looking for the most compelling and competitive requests to assure the highest likelihood of funding should a proposal be submitted. The committee also keeps in mind the amount of funding likely to be available at a grant cycle to assure that we do not invite many more proposals than are likely to be funded. Generally, about 35% of these LOIs receive an invitation to submit a full proposal.

12. Why doesn't the foundation just invite all requests that fall within guidelines to submit a full proposal?
    First, we are well aware that a full proposal involves considerably more work for an organization than an LOI. Therefore, we think it is better to be selective before the proposal stage, so that a high percentage of proposals are successful, than to allow many proposals but fund only a few.

    Second, a full proposal also involves much more work for us than an LOI. For example, we do a site visit for every organization submitting a full proposal. We have a small staff and keep in mind our own capacity to do site visits and adequately evaluate proposals. We believe in the long run that our lean staff overhead allows us to put as much of our resources as possible into grants rather than administrative costs.

13. What is your Screening Committee looking for in selecting an LOI for a full proposal?
    First and foremost, we are looking for evidence of program effectiveness. If a program has a successful "track record," data indicating this should be highlighted in the LOI. We are also looking for adequate details in the program description so that we fully understand how our funds would be used. For an educational program, for example, we would want to know such things as when and where a program occurs, how many children are served, how often within a week a program meets, how volunteers (if used) are recruited and trained, ratio of adults to children, the program's basic goals and any past evidence of program success in meeting those goals. The LOI is really like the narrative of a proposal, but in miniature. It should show the program's strengths as best it can, since it will be reviewed competitively in comparison with other similar programs.

    If a program is new and has no past data, on the other hand, it would be important to demonstrate the quality of the program design and the capacity of the organization through past success with other programs.

14. If an LOI is selected for a full proposal, then what?
    If an organization is approved to submit a full proposal, it will be contacted as soon as possible so that a site visit can be scheduled. (If a site visit cannot be scheduled, the proposal may be postponed until the next grant cycle pending the site visit, so it is important in submitting an LOI to be ready to suggest an appropriate site visit.)

16. If an LOI is declined, can one ask for a debriefing, and when can one reapply?
    Call 202-338-0398 or e-mail meadfoundation@earthlink.net if you have any questions as to why your LOI was declined. If you are early enough in the process so that there is still time before the LOI deadline, you may send a new LOI for the same grant cycle so long as you have made the changes needed to assure that the new request falls within our guidelines. If your declination comes after the LOI deadline, then you may reapply for the next grant cycle. However, we generally do not suggest reapplying for the same project that was declined unless something new has occurred to make a program more competitive. For example, a previously declined pilot program might over time develop the evaluative data necessary to demonstrate program effectiveness, so that a second request for the same program would have a better chance of success. Generally, however, if you repeat the same action, you are likely to get the same result!

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