A Fictional Letter of Inquiry, Essay Example

Terry Malavenda, Grants Administrator

The Price Family Charitable Fund 

Subj:  The Melinos Foundation: A Bus of Our Own

Dear Ms. Malavenda,

In 2008, when The Melinos Foundation was founded, there were about 175,00  military personnel and their families in the San Diego area. Among those families were a substantial number with fathers and mothers deployed around the world aboard ships, while others were marines, soldiers, and airmen deployed on foreign soil. That hasn’t changed. The Melinos Foundation is dedicated to the children of those absent fathers and mothers.

Since our founding in August of 2008, we have taken some of those children on a total of 208 consecutive field trips, from the Mexican border to Lake Tahoe to the Channel Islands. Expanding the range and frequency of that service is our mission.

The Melinos Foundation was founded by Herman Melinos, a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy. After his retirement in 2006,  he began to investigate the possibility of starting an organization that would fill a need he had witnessed firsthand in his 30-year naval career: the cultural enrichment of the children of his crewmates. Herman began the process of fundraising and organizing the project, but died suddenly in 2009. His widow, Tatiana Melinos, founded the Melinos Foundation to complete husband’s wish. It was an immediate success.

The foundation has been leasing a midsize bus, but we now realize our need to own a full-size vehicle. That is the purpose of this proposed grant: to provide a portion of the purchase price of a vehicle that would accommodate up to 30 passengers, plus driver, thus allowing for longer trips without crowding, and eliminate the need for follower cars.

• Our grant-request would be for $10,000, which is approximately a fourth of the price of the used 2004 bus we have in mind.

We stress that this is not a speculative venture. Our success has already been demonstrated, and it is likely that in the next several years we will have to begin diversifying into chapters serving each branch of the service represented locally. We are also in the process of finalizing plans for a joint excursion next summer that would entail a “wagon train” of buses from several local school-districts as well as our own bus for a trip up the coast to The Presidio in San Francisco. The size of the expedition would be a benefit for all parties as we would be able to save on fuel, food, and lodging costs by arranging bulk purchases in advance.

As you are aware, the effects of the economic recession that began in 2008  have impacted charities as well. As a result, we have not been able to grow our funding enough to pay all our expenses and accumulate the surpluses necessary to afford the full purchase price of a larger bus, its insurance, maintenance, and fuel. We face the prospect of charging a per-child fee, which would hurt our larger families. We wish to avoid that, which is why we have come to you.

We believe that your mission of improving the lives of low-income San Diegans dovetails perfectly with the goals of the Melinos Foundation, which is to focus on the most vulnerable of those area residents, the children of deployed servicemen and women.

I am available to provide you with any additional information you may require, and look forward to hearing from you soon. Whether on land, sea, or in the air, high morale starts at home.

Sincerely,

Name

References

Bauer, D. G. (1995). The “how to” grants manual: Successful grantseeking techniques for obtaining public and private grants. (4th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education. Retrieved from http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home

How to apply: The price family charitable fund. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.pricefamilyfund.org/How-To-Apply/

San Diego’s military presence. (2008, October 6). Retrieved from http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San_Diegos_Military_Presence.html

Understanding the experience of military families and their returning war fighters. (2010, January). Retrieved from  http://www.familyhomelessness.org/media/72.pdf

2004 bluebird bus. (2012, August). Retrieved from http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2004-BLUEBIRD-BUS-RE-ALL-AMERICAN-8-3L-CUMMINS-DIESEL-/170892711434?pt=Buses&hash=item27c9ffd60a