Submitting a Letter of Inquiry

If after reviewing the Foundation’s Guidelines and Themes you feel there is alignment with your organization’s mission and project, it is appropriate to send a letter of inquiry if your organization has never received funding from the Stewardship Foundation or it has been at least one year since you submitted your last letter of inquiry.

Letters of inquiry are accepted only from U.S. charitable organizations ruled to be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, and not a private foundation as defined in Section 509(a) of the Code.

This letter, no longer than two pages, should include the following information:

• Name, address, email address, and telephone number for the U.S. organization and for the U.S. primary contact for the request.
• A description of your organization and the nature of its work, as well as a brief summary of your organization’s achievements, particularly as they relate to the problem or issue to be addressed, the size of staff and board, geographic region and type of service provided.
• A statement of the problem or need you plan to address and an explanation of how it will be addressed. Include a brief description of anticipated achievements or outcomes.
• The time frame for the proposed activities.
• One-page (additional) proposed project budget for the total cost of the project and for the amount you intend to request from the Foundation. Indicate potential or real sources of support for the project in addition to the Foundation.
• A copy of your U.S. 501(c)(3) IRS letter of determination (additional pages), showing you are not a private foundation.

Letters of inquiry are not accepted via email. Please mail your letter to:

Jon J. Beighle
President
Stewardship Foundation
PO Box 1278
Tacoma, WA 98401-1278

The primary contact indicated in your letter of inquiry will be notified whether or not your organization will be invited to submit a full proposal.

Please note that examples of past work, articles, reports, videos or other material should not be submitted with a letter of inquiry. Due to the large number of requests the Foundation receives and the time entailed to develop a proposal, applicants should not send in a full proposal unless requested to do so by the Foundation. Please do not add the Stewardship Foundation to your organization’s general mailing list.