LOI Drafter

Turn a sprawling program description into a tight Letter of Inquiry sized to each funder's limit. Joy pulls the need, outcomes, and your specific ask from the Knowledge Center and drafts the LOI; you edit and send it in your own name.

For Grant Writers Nonprofit Directors Development Teams Foundation Relations Staff
Sample prompt to Joy's Assistant

Condense our [program] program description into a [length] Letter of Inquiry for [funder], pulling the need, outcomes, and [amount] ask from the Knowledge Center and matching their format and funding priorities.

What it can look like

An illustrative example. Your output will reflect your own sources, data, and prompts.

Condense our Summer Reading Corps program description into a two-page Letter of Inquiry for the Callahan Family Foundation, pulling the need, outcomes, and $50,000 ask from the Knowledge Center and matching their format and funding priorities.

I pulled your Summer Reading Corps program description, last summer's outcomes, and the $50,000 budget from the Knowledge Center, then tightened it to fit Callahan's two-page inquiry limit and lead with the summer reading-loss angle their guidelines say they fund. Read it as the funder will, then send it in your own name.

Letter of Inquiry: draft

To: Grants Officer, The Callahan Family Foundation
Re: Letter of Inquiry — Summer Reading Corps
Length: Two pages (Callahan inquiry limit)

Dear Ms. Reyes,

By the time a child from a low-income home reaches fifth grade, the reading skills lost over successive summers alone can leave them close to two grade levels behind a wealthier classmate — most of it slipping away in the months when school is out and no one is reading with them. Riverside Reading Project keeps that gap from opening. We write to ask whether the Callahan Family Foundation would welcome a full proposal for $50,000 to expand our Summer Reading Corps for the 2027 season.

The need in our county is concrete. Last spring, 61% of third-graders in the three schools we serve read below grade level, and the nearest public library sits more than two miles from the neighborhoods where they live. For families working through the summer, a daily reading routine is the first thing to go.

Summer Reading Corps meets students where they already are. Each summer we place trained tutors in six community sites — rec centers, a church basement, a housing-complex common room — for eight weeks, pairing every K–3 child with 40 hours of one-on-one and small-group reading built on a structured phonics-and-fluency curriculum. Every child leaves with ten books to keep.

It works. Of the 214 children who finished last summer, 88% held or gained a reading level over the break, against a district pattern of steady decline, and the share of families reading together at home rose from 38% in June to 71% by August (Summer Reading Corps Evaluation, 2026).

A $50,000 grant from Callahan would let us add two sites and serve 90 more children in 2027, covering tutor stipends, the take-home book sets, and curriculum materials. It would move us from six sites to eight, in the neighborhoods with the county’s lowest third-grade reading scores.

May we send you a full proposal? I would welcome the chance to walk you through our outcomes and the expansion plan at whatever length your process prefers. Thank you for considering Summer Reading Corps.

Warm regards,
Dana Okafor, Executive Director, Riverside Reading Project

Want me to draft the full proposal if Callahan invites one, or a short cover email to send this letter with?

From program description to funder-ready LOI

LOI Drafter knows your programs, outcomes, and budgets from the Knowledge Center. When a funder opens an inquiry window, you name the program, the funder, and the ask, and Joy drafts a Letter of Inquiry that leads with what that funder funds and fits inside their length limit.

  1. Build your knowledge base

    Upload program descriptions, outcomes data, and budgets to the Knowledge Center. Joy learns your voice and the results behind each program.

  2. Name the funder and the ask

    Tell Joy the program, the funder, the amount, and their inquiry limit: "Condense our Summer Reading Corps program into a two-page LOI for the Callahan Family Foundation, $50,000." Joy matches their format and giving priorities.

  3. Review the draft

    Read the letter as the funder will. Joy opens with the need, carries the one outcome that fits this funder, and states your ask plainly, all sized to their limit.

  4. Refine and copy

    Ask Joy to sharpen the opening or trade in a different outcome, then copy the letter into email or the funder's inquiry portal.

  5. Make it one click for your team

    Save this ask as a custom command on the assistant your team already uses, so anyone can run it in one step.

Make it yours

Org Memory

Knows your programs, outcomes, and budgets from the Knowledge Center, so the letter is built from real material, not guesses.

Funder Fit

Leads with the priority each funder names in their guidelines and leaves out what they don't fund.

Cut to the Limit

Drafts to the funder's page or word limit instead of trimming a full proposal down by hand.

Your Voice

Learns your style from past letters so the draft reads like your organization, not generic AI.

Family Foundations

Relationship-driven letters with a warm opening and a clear invitation to submit a full proposal.

Government Pre-Applications

Concept papers and pre-applications with the required sections and compliance language.

Corporate Giving

Short, benefit-focused inquiries aligned to a company's stated giving priorities.

Retarget to Many Funders

Recast one program's LOI for several funders, each opened with what that funder cares about most.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a grant letter of inquiry (LOI)?

A letter of inquiry is a short letter, usually one to two pages, that a nonprofit sends a funder before a full proposal. It summarizes the need, the program, its outcomes, and the amount requested, so the funder can decide whether to invite a complete application. JoySuite's LOI Drafter builds that letter from your program materials in the Knowledge Center.

Can AI write a letter of inquiry for a grant?

Yes. JoySuite's LOI Drafter drafts a letter of inquiry from your organization's programs, outcomes data, and budgets, matched to a specific funder's priorities and length limit. It produces a first draft in your organization's voice that a grant writer then edits and sends.

How long should a letter of inquiry be?

Most funders cap an LOI at one or two pages, and some set a word count instead. Tell Joy the limit the funder published and it drafts to fit, rather than trimming a full proposal down by hand. If a funder gives no limit, one to two pages is the safe convention.

What should a letter of inquiry include?

A strong LOI opens with a concrete hook, states the need with evidence, describes the program and its outcomes, names the specific amount requested, and closes by inviting a full proposal. JoySuite structures these elements automatically and pulls the supporting numbers from your Knowledge Center.

How do I tailor an LOI to a specific funder?

Name the funder and their guidelines, and Joy leads with the priority that funder cares about, carries the one outcome that best fits, and drops anything outside their focus. The same program can be recast for several funders, each letter opened with what that funder funds.

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