Guidelines for Seeking a Letter of Support

a person's hand signing a document

Introduction

A letter of support is an important tool in securing funding.  The Fresno County Department of Social Services (DSS) is pleased to provide a letter of support to help your agency securing funding for your agency programs, services or projects to support the county’s needy families.  To acquire a letter of support to include as part of a proposal to the federal, state, city or private organizations/foundations, please email DSS Administration Support or call (559) 600-2300.

To request letter(s) of support, the agency must submit a request to DSS Administration Support no later than two (2) weeks prior to the date that the letter of support is required.  The request should include the following:

  1. A cover letter with the name of the organization making the request;  
  2. The contact person and the phone number for the requesting agency;
  3. The grant being pursued;
  4. The timeframe that the grant covers and the due date of the proposal;
  5. A brief description of the agency’s background;
  6. A brief description of the proposal, the objective and the issue to be addressed;
  7. The total dollars requested in this proposal as well as in-kind committed to the program;
  8. Targeted population, number of clients to be served and outcome measurements; and
  9. A draft letter of support that you would like DSS to send on your behalf.

Email your request to the Department of Social Services or use the mailing address below:

Mailing Address:
Department of Social Services
Administrative Support
205 W. Pontiac Way, Clovis CA 93612

Once your request is received, it will be immediately referred to the appropriate Administrative Staff for review and assignment, and you will be contacted by the assigned staff for additional information if needed and the Department’s decision to provide a letter of support or not to provide it.  Your contact person will also be notified when the letter is ready. If you are on a tight time line, please inform us immediately, we will make every effort to expedite your request.

Please do not use this request process when a grant application calls for memorandums of understanding, a letter of intent or an agreement.

Thank you for seeking a letter of support from DSS and for your cooperation.