Grant Application Cover Letter
Cover letter for foundation or government grant applications — concise summary, request amount, alignment with funder priorities.
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Riverbend Community Outreach
1407 Maple Avenue, Madison, WI 53703
April 22, 2026
Ms. Jennifer Park, Senior Program Officer, Education
Hartwell Foundation
Hartwell Foundation, 200 Park Avenue, Suite 1500, Chicago, IL 60601
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RE: Grant Application — Riverbend Reads — School-Year 2026-2027 Tutoring Expansion
Request: $75,000 over 18 months
From: Riverbend Community Outreach (EIN 47-3829145)
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Dear Ms. Jennifer Park, Senior Program Officer, Education,
Riverbend Community Outreach is pleased to submit this request for $75,000 over 18 months
to support Riverbend Reads — School-Year 2026-2027 Tutoring Expansion.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Riverbend Reads provides one-on-one and small-group reading tutoring to elementary students performing below grade level in Madison, Wisconsin. The proposed grant will expand the program from 184 to 276 students by hiring two additional tutor coordinators and launching a third tutoring site in the Madison East district during school year 2026-2027.
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ALIGNMENT WITH HARTWELL FOUNDATION PRIORITIES
This proposal aligns directly with the Hartwell Foundation's 2026 funding priority on K-12 literacy interventions in Midwestern urban communities. Specifically:
► Evidence-based intervention: our tutoring model is adapted from the validated Reading Partners curriculum.
► Measurable outcomes: 78% of our students advanced one or more reading levels in 2025-2026; we measure quarterly using DIBELS assessments.
► Geographic priority: Madison is identified in the Foundation's 2026-2028 strategic plan as a focus city.
► Capacity building: this grant funds program expansion, not gap-filling, consistent with the Foundation's capacity-building emphasis.
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ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY
Riverbend has operated continuously since 2013 (12 years), maintained a clean financial audit each year, and earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. Our Executive Director, Sarah Goldstein, has 15 years in K-12 literacy education including 8 years at Reading Partners. Our board includes two reading specialists, a district superintendent, and a retired federal Department of Education officer. We currently operate under a $480,000 annual budget with 6 staff and 67 trained volunteer tutors.
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USE OF FUNDS
Personnel (62%): $46,500
- Two tutor coordinators (0.5 FTE each, school year)
- Volunteer training and onboarding (consultant)
Program materials (14%): $10,500
- Books and reading materials for 92 new students
- Assessment tools (DIBELS licenses)
Facility costs (10%): $7,500
- Madison East site rent and utilities, 9 months
Program operations (8%): $6,000
- Volunteer reimbursement, training meals, materials
Evaluation (4%): $3,000
- External evaluator for outcomes report
Indirect costs (2%): $1,500
- General administrative allocation (10% of personnel)
TOTAL REQUESTED: $75,000
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TIMELINE
July 2026: Hire tutor coordinators; finalize Madison East site lease.
August 2026: Tutor recruitment and training cohort 1 (24 new tutors).
September 2026: Madison East site opens; first 30 students enroll.
January 2027: Mid-year DIBELS assessment; cohort 2 tutor training (24 tutors).
May 2027: Spring DIBELS; outcomes evaluation.
June 2027: Year-end report to Hartwell Foundation; final outcomes data.
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NEXT STEPS
Enclosed please find: (1) Project narrative (8 pages); (2) Budget detail and budget narrative; (3) Most-recent IRS Form 990 and audited financial statements; (4) Logic model and outcomes-evaluation plan; (5) Letters of support from Madison Metropolitan School District and partnering schools.
We would be glad to provide additional information or arrange a site visit at your convenience. We look forward to the possibility of partnership with the Hartwell Foundation.
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Sincerely,
_______________________________
Sarah Goldstein
Executive Director
Riverbend Community Outreach
Phone: (608) 555-0144 | Email: sarah.goldstein@riverbend.org
Enclosures: Project Narrative (8 pp), Budget Detail, Form 990, Audited Financials,
Logic Model, Letters of Support
About this template
The grant cover letter is the first thing a foundation program officer reads, and it determines whether your full proposal gets a careful read or a polite skim. Best practices have stabilized over decades of grants management: keep it ONE PAGE, lead with alignment to the funder's priorities, and signal organizational credibility quickly. Standard structure: (1) Heading & RE line — orgname, funder, project name, amount, EIN; (2) Opening — single sentence stating what you're asking for and why; (3) Project overview — 2-3 sentence summary; (4) Alignment with funder — explicit, specific connection to the funder's stated priorities (this is the make-or-break section; generic alignments fail; specific connections to the funder's strategic plan succeed); (5) Organizational capacity — 1 paragraph establishing track record, leadership, audit clean status, similar successful work; (6) Use of funds — high-level breakdown by category with totals; (7) Timeline — major milestones; (8) Next steps — what the funder should expect; offer of follow-up; (9) Sign-off — Executive Director or Board Chair; never delegate to a development associate. Common foundation expectations: (1) Letters of inquiry (LOI) precede full applications for many funders — typically 1-2 pages; the cover letter format adapts; (2) Online portals — many foundations now use Common Grant Application format or online portals (Foundant, SmartSimple, MicroEdge); the cover letter sometimes becomes a "summary" field; (3) Federal grants — much more structured (Grants.gov, NSF, NIH); cover letter replaced by formal proposal cover sheet (SF-424); narrative requirements much heavier. Foundation due-diligence basics: (1) GuideStar/Candid Profile — funders check you in advance; keep your profile current; (2) Form 990 — funders read it; have your latest one accessible; (3) Audited financials — required for grants typically over $25K-$50K; (4) Board composition — funders look for diverse, qualified, active boards; (5) References from current/past funders — be ready to provide. Cover-letter mistakes that kill applications: generic alignment ("we appreciate your support of education"); no specific dollar request; no clear timeline; over-promising scope or impact relative to budget; sloppy proofreading (typos in funder name or program officer's name); failure to follow the funder's formatting requirements (page limits, font sizes, signature requirements). Tone: professional, specific, confident — but never aggressive or assumptive. Foundations want to see that you understand them, not that you're shopping a generic proposal to whoever will read it.
When to use it
- Foundation grant applications (Hartwell, Ford, Gates, Kellogg, etc.).
- Government grant applications (Federal, state, municipal — adapted format).
- Letter of inquiry (LOI) before full proposal.
- Renewal applications (with year-over-year comparison).
- Multi-funder corporate giving requests.
What to include
- Org and funder headers, EIN, project name, amount, RE line.
- 2-3 sentence project summary.
- Specific alignment with funder's priorities.
- Organizational track record and leadership.
- High-level use-of-funds breakdown.
- Project timeline / major milestones.
- Next-steps offer and contact information.