7.4 Cover Letter Best Practices

Best practices are considered by organizations of all kinds. When it comes to grant writing and the cover letter, authenticity, formality, and conciseness all come to mind.

Summit Strategy states, “Proposal writers fall into the trap of copying and pasting the same old boilerplate text they’ve always used, which typically sounds like every other firm submitting a proposal. The result? Your proposal that you worked on for months ends up forgotten on the ash heap of boring proposal history.”^[1] This might be tough to hear, but the results of a so-so cover letter will be just that: so-so. A team that has put so much time and effort into their grant proposal should definitely take advantage of the opportunity the cover letter presents to maximize success.

In some cases, such as when applying for a grant with the NIAID, cover letters are only permitted if there is special information, a needed approval, the application contains genomic data, or the application is late or needs correction.^[2] Once again, following directions proves critical when it comes to grant writing. The score your submission receives will benefit from the time and care that is put into its development.