Mr. Matt Sterling
Chairman
James and Mary Brush Foundation
1 City Plaza
Anytown, FL 33000

Dear Mr. Sterling,

Sheila Burns recommended that I write to introduce you to the African American Literary Council and ask for your support through a $10,000 grant from the James and Mary Brush Foundation. Your grant would be used to support increased marketing of Black American Voices, our quarterly journal of fiction and literary criticism. Local writers such as Sheila and Joshua Jefferson were first published in our journal years before their popular and critical successes. Both have been loyal to the journal, allowing us to continue to publish their new works alongside stories by new African American writers. No other African American journal offers this combination of accomplished and emerging talents.

The council also takes an active role in the local community, providing literary opportunities for adults and students alike. We have concentrated our after-school program on middle school students for the last two years after a study by the state university revealed students at this age were at particular risk of dropping out of school.

By providing creative writing workshops, we encourage the students to express themselves by telling their stories in a supportive environment, which has resulted in greater retention and less truancy.

To continue our tradition of success, we must broaden our base of support. As you might know, the Butler County Community Trust has provided a substantial part of our funding for the last six years. They have informed us that their support must end next year because of their limit on consecutive-year funding, and we are writing in hopes that you will help us fill the gap left by their departure.

I’ve enclosed a copy of the most recent journal along with a proposal outlining the goals and objectives we have set for it in the coming two years. The journal’s editor and I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to answer any questions you might have and to discuss how the council and the James and Mary Brush Foundation might work together. You can reach me at president@ aalitcouncil.org or (904) 555-1234. Your kind consideration of this request is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Mary Adams
Mary Adams
President of the Board