What’s in a Strong Letter of Support?
When a project involves a partner organization or numerous stakeholders, some grant applications require a letter of support or commitment. It’s important to plan to get these letters well in advance of the application deadline to avoid last-minute scrambling.
Letters of support typically either demonstrate community support for an application or outline a particular role another organization has committed to in the delivery of the project. In some cases, a letter is required to confirm a committed financial contribution from another organization in support of your project.
Letters of Support should:
Provide specific details about the relationship the supporting organization has to the project (general support, which often comes from local leaders, a specific role, or a financial/in-kind contribution). It is important that the context directly relates to the application and the goal of the project.
Name specific resources and how they will be beneficial, and/or staff involved in the project and what they will do;
Be written on the organization’s letterhead and include an authorized signature and full contact information (some funders follow-up): letters of support are often part of the application evaluation criteria, and ensuring they are professionally presented is important;
Include any additional relevant information that would be helpful to demonstrate the applicant’s capacity to deliver (past projects and successes, unique abilities, experience or expertise, position in the community, etc.).
A letter of support should be limited to one page. It’s a common practice to provide a template when requesting letters of support, which can save time and ensure all the relevant information is included. It is not advised, however, for all your letters to be exactly the same. If you are providing a template to multiple organizations, include and highlight a space for the organization to customize the letter to make it more compelling.
Letters of support strengthen the position you are making that what you are proposing is important and can be very impactful in determining the success of your application.
Check the application guidelines to see if there is an opportunity to submit them, even if none are required.