Procedure No. 30.3

Adopted: 7/7 2015

Revisions Approved: 11/15/2021

Area: Board of Trustees

Governance: President’s Cabinet

Responsible Executive Authority: Chief of Staff and Chief Advancement Officer / Vice President, Institutional Effectiveness and Chief Strategy Officer

Letters of Support Must Go Through the Chief of Staff and Chief Advancement Officer and Must be Signed by Atlantic Cape President

Often, grant funders require that letters of support be provided by the applicant with their proposal. There are two scenarios in which letters of support are needed:

• When a grant proposal is being developed by an outside organization that is requesting Atlantic Cape's endorsement and/or participation as a partner.
• When a grant proposal is being developed by college personnel in support of a college program, and letters of support from other organizations are required.

SCENARIO 1 - OUTSIDE ORGANIZATION HAS REQUESTED LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM ATLANTIC CAPE

Atlantic Cape is often asked to provide letters of support for other nonprofit organizations' and public agencies' grant proposals.

Atlantic Cape provides these letters if the following two conditions are met:

• It is appropriate to document an association with or support for the partner organization, and/or support for the proposed grant-funded project; and
• If the partner organization has provided enough time for development of the letter.

Generally, the President’s Office needs at least three days to generate the letter and have it signed by the President or an approved designee, and allows two days for delivery of the letter. For that reason, requests for support letters should come from partners at least a week prior to the partner's deadline for the letter.

To facilitate letters of support from Atlantic Cape, the Chief of Staff and Chief Advancement Officer and the involved Atlantic Cape department or program will work together to:

• Review the funder's guidelines or Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify how the program aligns with the college's vision and mission and current/planned initiatives.
• Request a proposal abstract/summary from the partner organization. This abstract will be attached to the President's signature request.
• Identify any issues or concerns that may suggest that Atlantic Cape should not provide a support letter. The ultimate decision for whether or not Atlantic Cape should provide a support letter will be made by the Chief of Staff.

In addition to complying with any specific requirements for support letters set by the RFP, Atlantic Cape's support letters should follow this general outline:

• Opening Paragraph - Introduction: Statement of support for application submitted by partner organization, including identification of full name of funder/grantmaking agency and grant program.
• Main paragraph 1 - Identity of the college: Briefly state Atlantic Cape's mission, history and service to the community. If applicable, include brief discussion of the major objective being covered by the proposal and Atlantic Cape's role in collaborating to meet this objective/addressing the opportunity.
• Main paragraph 2 - Nature of the relationship: Document Atlantic Cape's history of collaboration with the partner organization (if applicable), especially in terms of the project for which the partner is requesting a grant. State whether the contribution is an in-kind donation of services or if Atlantic Cape will be compensated for the contribution through the grant.
• Main paragraph 3 - Nature of the contribution: Describe the potential contributions to the project that Atlantic Cape would be able to provide if the partner is funded.
• Closing paragraph - Provide contact information for any Atlantic Cape staffer directly involved in partnership and thank funder for consideration.

The President’s Office will coordinate attainment of the President's signature on the letter.  All support letters from Atlantic Cape must be signed by Atlantic Cape's President or an approved designee.  Under no circumstances may other Atlantic Cape faculty or staff sign and provide letters of support for other organizations' grant applications.

SCENARIO 2 - ATLANTIC CAPE GRANT APPLICATION FROM WHICH LETTERS OF SUPPORT FROM OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ARE NEEDED

The Grants Office will work with other faculty/staff involved in grant proposal to draft copy for and make requests to external organizations for letters of support.  Faculty/staff should not seek support letters for Atlantic Cape grant applications unless they are working directly with/in coordination with the Grants Office.

In addition to complying with any specific requirements for support letters set by the RFP, support letters provided by partners for Atlantic Cape applications should follow this general outline when possible:

• Opening Paragraph - Introduction: Statement of support for application submitted by Atlantic Cape, including identification of full name of funder/grantmaking agency and grant program.
• Main paragraph 1 - Identity of the partnering organization: Briefly state mission, history and service to the community as relevant. If applicable, include brief discussion of the grant objective described in the proposal and partner's role in addressing the opportunity.
• Main paragraph 2 - Nature of the relationship: Document partner's history of collaboration with the Atlantic Cape (if applicable), especially in terms of the project for which Atlantic Cape is requesting a grant. State whether the contribution is an in-kind donation of services or if partner will be a sub-grantee/funded partner.
• Main paragraph 3 - Nature of the contribution: Describe the potential contributions to the project that partner would be able to provide if Atlantic Cape is funded.
• Closing paragraph - Provide contact information for any partner organization staffer directly involved in partnership and thank funder for consideration.

Back to the Policies and Procedures Main Menu