By Eily Fidock, Grants Development Consultant
Collaboration can be key to the success of your grant application. Detailing how the efforts and expertise of others contributes to the delivery of your project reduces duplicative efforts, improves overall outcomes and develops important relationships within the community of involved organisations. In order to formalise and demonstrate the validity of these partnerships within a grant application, a Letter of Support is often mandatory or highly encouraged.
What is the Purpose of a Letter of Support?
A Letter of Support validates the credibility of your collaborative application. This testimony signifies your project has the potential to deliver the proposed results. It provides a compelling and persuasive reason for a funder to support your grant application. A Letter of Support outlines the significance of the partnership and is often written by an influential member of the partner organisation (i.e., CEO, CTO, General Manager etc.). It will represent the applicant institution’s commitment to the project and outline their specific role within the project. This document will align with the information provided in the grant application, including realistic timelines, project relevance and organisational investment.
A Letter of Support in Australia is often used interchangeably with Letter of Commitment and when a funder requests an applicant to submit letters, in most cases they are referring the aforementioned (grant guidelines will usually indicate what information is required within a Letter of Support for that specific grant). Letters supporting your project from organisations or cohorts that may benefit directly from the outcomes of the project, or organisations that have related missions or goals, can also strengthen your grant application and the validity of your request (even when these letters are not mandatory attachments for the application).This may be referred to as ‘supporting documentation’ and may be attached along with related media articles, interviews, architectural drawings and other related materials.
Partner Organisation Letter of Support: Check List
To draft the ultimate letter supporting your partnership’s grant application, use the following prompts as a guide.
- Partner Organisation’s Official Letterhead: including formatting in line with grant guidelines (e.g., Two A4 pages, 12pt font, 0.5cm margins), including any additional requirements in the grant application.
- Brief Profile of Partner Organisation: including size, location, relevant products/services and goals.
- Partner Organisation’s Alignment to the Project: including objectives, values, commitment and responsibilities. Ensure this is tailed to the specific Project named within the grant application.
- Details of Partner Organisation’s Cash or In-Kind Co-Contribution (Note: cash co-contributions should not be drawn from pre-allocated or previously awarded sources). If applicable, detail personnel involvement, their role and their contribution (e.g., 0.5 FTE.) Ensure this co-contribution matches what is detailed in the grant application.
- Signature Block: signed by an authorised person on behalf of the supporting organisation (e.g., CEO, General Manager) including their name and position within the organisation.
Tips for a Great Letter of Support
There are several key points to consider when requesting or writing a great Letter of Support.
- Firstly, the format may be stipulated within the grant guidelines referencing page length and character or word limit. It is important to fulfil these criteria to ensure the letter is accepted during the assessment period. Other key formatting requirements may be the inclusion of the supporting organisation’s letterhead, or the requested file type may be PDF or JPEG. If your letter does not adhere to the formatting requirements, this will impact your chance of success.
- Keep it simple. Even when you are not explicitly required to keep Letters of Support to one-to-two pages, it is ideal to do so. Good letters of support get to the point quickly, are clear and concise. Keep organisation descriptions to one brief paragraph (who you are and what you do). Remember this letter of support is in relation to a proposal, so most of this letter should be in reference to the project and your involvement in it.
- If partnering with another organisation, ensure your Letter of Support demonstrates commitment to the project. This letter is confirmational evidence of the project’s success should the grant be awarded to you. It should extend beyond a statement in favour of the project. When articulating your role in the project as a whole, ensure the resources you may provide, the expertise you may offer and most importantly, the co-contribution you will provide are made clear.
- Leave enough time! Despite being only short documents, letters of support must be reviewed and signed by the responsible partner, passing through appropriate delegations of authority. This process may take two or three weeks depending on the organisational structure of the partner organisation. The earlier the letter can be drafted, the less stress you and your team will be under as the submission deadline looms.
- Demonstrate the proposed collaboration is genuine and the success of the project is your first priority. Whilst the grant award may be quintessential to the speed and success of your project, a collaboration for the sake of cash will always be less convincing than a collaboration in the name of innovation, social benefit or advancing industry practice.
Educational Resources
If you are stuck on how to write a Letter of Support, there are additional resources which can be accessed online, related to putting together a grant proposal including the steps involved in writing a Letter of Support.
- Community Grants Hub from the Australian Government contains guidance for applicants to support their grant applications with strong evidence. These tips can be used to strengthen a Letter of Support through demonstrating capabilities, expertise, and importance of an issue.
- gov.au from the Australian Government contains grant programs and guidelines documents as well as advice, events and training that may be available to you in your local area. In addition, you can find Letter of Support templates, grant information sessions, workshops, and webinars to begin your grantseeking journey.