What should liberal arts colleges and underserved institutions include in their initial letter to the Foundations seeking support?
The president’s letter should make a case justifying the need for a grant and its impact on your academic mission. Our Institutional Information form should be enclosed as well. Upon receipt of a qualified proposal, the Foundations’ staff will evaluate the institution and the relative impact that president’s request will have on the academic mission in relation to others seeking grants at the same time. We always give the benefit of the doubt during this initial screening, but those determined not to be competitive will be declined. Many fine institutions are declined at this stage. Our intent is to preserve the time of the requesting institutions because the next step involves an extensive narrative response that requires considerable work.
