20+ SAMPLE Proven Letter of Support

What Is a Proven Letter of Support?

A proven letter of support is a document sent to organizations for the purpose of recommendation and endorsement. In general, it is sent as a response to a request from a particular organization. These letters are usually written by individuals who are held high in regards to that industry or market. It is important to choose the correct person or company to get your support letter from. The main reason for this is that the appropriate person or company will greatly increase how an organization will see your credibility.

Uses and Applications of a Letter of Support

A letter of support is used in many ways. The most common applications are when applying for a new job, applying for a grant or financial aid and applying to a university.

University or School

When applying to a prestigious university, not everyone is given the chance to be accepted and to study there. Only a select few of the students are given the chance for a face to face interview. However, a credible support letter will increase the chance of the student being accepted. In this case, who are the individuals who can be considered reliable and credible? Professors from high school or former universities are the ones who usually write the letter.

New Job

For the case of applying for a new job in a new company. This kind of letter will be useful in order to convince the human resources manager to greatly consider you for the position you are applying for. Who should you approach to write your letter? In this case, former companies or to be specific, former human resources managers are very effective and credible authors of the letter. Support letters may be sent along with the certificate of employment. This will increase your chance of being accepted.

Grant Proposals

In case of grant proposals, more often than not, they are not accepted or supported by organizations or the government. According to a research study conducted by nature.com, in the year 2017 alone, the United States National Science Foundation or commonly known as NSF received 49,415 proposals. But, they only supported and funded 11,447 of the proposals. Converting that into percentage, the NSF funded less than 25 percent of the proposals they received. 

There are a lot of reasons as to why grant proposals are rejected. However, it is more important to focus on the ways you can boost the chance of success. One of the most common and reliable ways to increase the chance of you or your project getting funded is by means of a letter of support. This is done in order for the grantors to see that you are reliable and can deliver the specified goal. In this case, who are the ones you need to get a support letter from? There could be numerous individuals or organizations that can be considered. Firstly, it is important to look for someone who is respected in that field or industry. Another reliable source is to seek a recommendation letter or endorsement letter from foundations that have already expressed their support or have already funded your project or research.

Key Elements Included in a Letter of Support

The date: First and foremost, the date that the letter was sent must be included. In general, this is written in the uppermost part of the letter.The basic information of the recipient: The next section of the letter should indicate the basic information of the one receiving the letter. Who is the letter addressed to? This should contain their name, contact information as well as their position in the organization. This should also include a salutation that is appropriate for the situation.The introduction: In general, the introduction will be made up of one paragraph. This will introduce the main topic or the main problem to your target audience. This will as well state the reason as to why you have created and sent the letter. This will also contain a brief history of the about the subject matter at hand as well as the relationship of the sender to the person being endorsed.The body paragraph: The body paragraph will be the longest section of the letter. This will mostly contain 2 paragraphs. This is the section where you will make use of persuasive statements in order to convince the target audience that the individual or project you are endorsing is reliable and significant. This is the most detailed section of the letter as well.The conclusion: The conclusion is the integration and summarization of all the key points stated in the body paragraphs. This will once again go through the reason as to why the individual or project you are endorsing is worthy to be supported or funded.The basic information of the sender: Lastly, the basic information of the one who sent the letter should be included. This is the last part of the document and is usually written in the bottommost part of the letter. This will indicate their name and signature. In some cases, if the letter is sent internally within the boundaries of the organization, the work or the position of the sender should be included as well.

Step by Step Process in Creating a Letter of Support

Step 1: Browse and Choose a Template

In order to strengthen your claim, it is a must that the letter of support is written with clarity and with care. These types of letters should be clear and organized. One way in order to make sure that the letter is neat is to make use of a template.

Templates will not only make sure that the letter is neat but also make sure that all the necessary details will be included. This will serve as your guide in creating a detailed and effective letter.

Step 2: Research the Company

More often than not, this letter is written and sent as a response from a request from the company or organization. However, extensive and exhaustive research is still a must. One of the biggest advantages that the individual or project you are recommending will have is a detailed and well-written letter of support. It is important to know and understand the specific goals and principles of the organization that is requesting the letter. This will greatly increase the chance of them believing your claim.

Step 3: Input the Necessary Details

After choosing the template of your liking and researching about the mission statement and the vision statement of the company or organization you are sending the letter to, it is now time to include all the key elements of the letter of support.

The header

The header of the letter should be specific. This means that it should not be addressed to the company or organization as a whole. Thus, it should be sent to a specific person in the organization. The header should contain the name, contact information as well as the position they hold in the organization. This should also contain an appropriate salutation that suits the situation. The date that the letter was sent should be included as well.

The introduction

The first thing to include in the introductory paragraph is your name as well as your professional career. Briefly introduce yourself in this section. Along with the self introduction, also state how you came to know about the individual or project that you are recommending. This will be proof of your credibility and professionalism. Overall the introduction will clearly state the reason as to why the letter is created.

The body paragraph

This section is the longest and should be the most detailed section of your letter. The main purpose of the body paragraphs is to state the relevant pieces of information about the individual or project. This section will usually answer the question why.

The main question is why would the organization support your cause or why should the organization accept that individual. These are the questions that the body paragraphs should be able to answer. In this section, it is a must to state the credibility and achievements of the individual. If the endorsement is for a project, it should state the importance and the problem it wishes to solve. It is also a must to add in supporting documents or research in this section in order to further support your cause.

The conclusion

The last part of the document is the conclusion. This can also be considered as your last resort in convincing the recipient of the letter. In this section, it is a must to restate the key points of the letter. It is a must to go over again the main problem or main point of the letter and indicate the solutions or your claims. In this part, summarize into one cohesive paragraph the relevance and value of the individual or project you are in support of.

Step 4: Proofread

Proofread the letter. In all and any documents, it is a must that it has no grammatical and spelling errors. Any kind of error will make the sender look unreliable and unprofessional. In a letter of support, an error will more likely be of no value. It is important to go over the document more than once in order to make sure that everything is correct and true.

Step 5: Sign

Before sending the document, it is a must for the sender to affix his or her signature. This is important in order for it to be considered legal and formal. Unsigned letters or documents are disregarded by organizations.

Tips in Constructing a Letter of Support

Concise writing

It is important to be considerate and to not take up too much of the time of the target audience. The letter should be brief but at the same time clear and detailed. It should contain all the necessary details. However, take note that a letter like this usually does not exceed one page.

Be persuasive

The goal of the letter is to be able to persuade the readers that what you are claiming is true. It should be able to convince them to offer their support for the individual or project that you are endorsing. Make use of persuasive essays in order to effectively change their mind.

Proper Format

Make use of the proper format in creating the letter. In general, this is a response to an organization’s request. If there is no format required, use the standard format of a legal and formal letter.

Be unique

The letter should not be generic. This should be a personal letter. It is important not to utilize general words. Remember, that you are writing the letter to support a specific individual or project.

Avoid stressing the recipient

It is important not to stress that you are writing the letter only for financial aid. This will usually turn off the recipient of the letter. Let them know that they are not being forced to support the project or individual.

A letter of support is usually written with the purpose of endorsing or recommending an individual or project. The main essence is to be able to support someone in order to increase the chance of them getting accepted or funded. This letter can be used in many different applications. However, it is commonly used in order to advertise an individual to organizations that fund projects with significant importance. It is important to create the letter with clarity and with care. This will increase the chance of the letter being considered as credible. Make use of the templates available above in order to create an effective letter of support.