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Sample Cover Letter
The Virtual Community Group, Inc.
17 Park Road
Rural Town, NH
July 1, 1995
Jane Smith, Executive Director
Xavier Foundation
555 S. Smith St.
Washington, D.C. 22222
Dear Ms. Smith,
I am pleased to submit this proposal from the Virtual Community
Group, Inc., requesting an investment of $50,000 per year over two
years from the Xavier Foundation to support our Enterprise 2000
initiative. This grant would provide part of the funds needed for
us to train at least 1200 low-income entrepreneurs in rural New
Hampshire, helping them acquire the computer skills they need to
create sustainable local businesses as we enter the twenty-first
century.
As elsewhere in the U.S., the economic health of New Hampshire's
rural communities has suffered steady decline since the early 1900's.
Family farms, which once formed an economic base supporting large
numbers of rural inhabitants, have been all but eradicated by large-scale
agribusiness. Moreover, since 1960, New Hampshire has lost xx% of
its manufacturing jobs, as corporations or local factories have
shut down or moved operations out of state. As a result, many thousands
of individuals from New Hampshire -- particularly our young people
-- are moving to cities to seek jobs, not only depopulating and
further impoverishing rural communities, but contributing to the
growing pool of urban unemployed.
By tapping the energy of the small local entrepreneur, and linking
it to the explosion in communications technologies, we believe it
is possible to reverse this trend, enabling rural inhabitants to
retain viable, high-quality jobs far from industrial and urban centers.
Small towns would again offer a wide spectrum of employment opportunities
-- from small manufacturing to services to retail -- and develop
sound, diversified economies for the first time in generations.
Unfortunately, many small entrepreneurs cannot afford either the
training or equipment needed to participate in the rewards of the
Information Revolution. Enterprise 2000 was designed explicitly
to address this lack of parity, and help level the communications
playing field. Working in collaboration with microenterprise organizations,
community colleges, and agencies which recycle computer hardware,
Enterprise 2000 will offer disadvantaged entrepreneurs the following
services at low or no charge:
- Day-time or evening classes in basic, intermediate, and
advanced computer skills
- Training to use the Internet and other information networks
- Assessment of MIS needs
Access to reconditioned computer hardware After two years of experimentation and program development, the
Virtual Community Group has fashioned a superb, easily replicable
model in Enterprise 2000, and established a high degree of credibility
among community groups, policy makers, and funders. Our collaboration
with other agencies leverages every dollar invested. Given that
the Xavier Foundation has already made a number of strategic investments
to improve the lives of the rural poor, we are calling on you to
help us advance our joint objective one step further.
I appreciate your consideration of this proposal. Please feel free
to call me if you have questions or would like us to arrange a site
visit. I look forward to meeting with you soon.
Sincerely,
Executive Director
(This sample cover letter was created for AGM by Molly Clark Associates.)
Other Sample Documents:
Sample Concept Paper
Sample Letter of Inquiry
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