Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

Letters of Inquiry

Although a majority of the foundation's grants are awarded through competitive (request-for-proposal) processes or by invitation, staff members continuously research opportunities for the foundation's programs.

As part of this process, the program staff reviews unsolicited, two-page letters of inquiry from nonprofit organizations.

Unsolicited letters of inquiry should be addressed to:

Office of Grants Administration

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
650 Fifth Avenue, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10019

Letters should succinctly describe an organization's mission and strategy and briefly outline how the objectives of its proposed project relate to those of the foundation.

The staff requests that organizations do not send binders, books, CDs, videotapes or audiotapes. Due to time and space constraints, such materials generally will not be reviewed or retained.

Staff will respond to letters of inquiry within two months and will notify the writer if additional information is desired. However, the staff also respectfully cautions that very few grants result from unsolicited letters of inquiry.