Handling increased volume and managing workflow more efficiently?

KatieReynolds

Hello everyone,

Like many foundations, we’re seeing a noticeable increase in the number of Letters of Intent (LOIs) submitted each year. As we reviewed our 2025 submissions, we realized that many organizations submitting LOIs did not meet our funding guidelines or criteria, which has resulted in a significant amount of time spent reviewing applications that we ultimately decline.

We’re starting to look at whether there are ways to simplify this part of our process while still being clear about what we fund. A few questions for those who have been thinking about or working through this:

• Have any foundations moved away from an open LOI process and shifted to working primarily with returning applicants?
• Has anyone limited LOI submissions in a way that helps ensure organizations are a better fit before applying?
• How do you communicate funding priorities and eligibility in a way that reduces misaligned applications without discouraging strong ones?

We would really appreciate hearing how others are handling increased volume and managing this part of the workflow more efficiently.

Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.

JoeyAlbin

Thanks for the question, Katie! I thought I'd address your question while we await responses from other users.

First off, it is worth noting that while your increased LOI volume may be getting tough to manage, it still is helping to align your potential applicants with your foundation's criteria in that you're catching this misalignments in the LOI phase rather than the application. I think a good option might be to beef up your LOI a bit by adding some language and perhaps branching logic.

If your LOI clearly communicates your funding priorities and criteria, this could help potential applicants determine what is and isn't a fit. However, in addition to this communication, you can build some questions into your LOI. For example, if you have a minimum or maximum project budget, you could include a relevant question in the LOI. Or, if you only want to fund specific program areas, this could be reflected in an LOI question. You could even use branching to help your LOI adapt to how the applicant responds to these crucial questions.
https://support.foundant.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404568791063-Question-Branching

One other option you might consider is using a restricted process that requires applicants to use an access code that you have provided to them. This would be a very different workflow from your current one, and it would still require fielding potential applicants, but it may allow you to accommodate this increased volume more effectively, depending on your foundation's capacity.
https://support.foundant.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404190263703-Process-Visibility-Types

If you want to chat more about workflow options for this situation, I would also encourage you to contact Support and request a meeting with someone on our Success team; they could look at your existing workflows with you and discuss potential strategies.