Sample Meeting Request Letter

The Council’s Government Relations Department has recently launched a new resource on the Council’s website—the Policy Action Center. The Center allows constituents to send a formal and timely message to their lawmakers in less than five minutes with the click of a button. No cutting and pasting of text is necessary—messages are formatted for ease and convenience and this new center automatically matches you to your legislators based on your zip code.

Use the sample meeting request letter in the Policy Action Center to request a visit with your legislators in Washington, D.C. during Foundations on the Hill. Please be sure to follow up with your legislator’s Washington, D.C. office to ensure receipt of your requests. Click here to find your Representative or Senator's D.C. contact information.

Formal Meeting Request

(Your Foundation’s Letterhead)

(Date)

Re: Request for a Meeting

Dear Representative or Senator [insert last name]:

On behalf of the foundations in your state [or district], I am writing to request the opportunity to meet with you on March 25.

[Personalize here: introduce yourself, your foundation and summarize foundations in the congressional district or state] Example: I am Executive Director of the Jones Foundation, which has $25 million in assets. We make grants totaling $2 million annually, mostly in Ohio. The most recent data indicates that there are 24 grantmaking foundations in your district [or state] with combined assets over $120 million, making grants annually of $7.5 million.

During our meeting with you, we would like to talk about our work and share our views on several policy issues affecting foundations being considered by Congress, including:

• legislation that would permanently expand and extend the IRA charitable rollover (H.R. 1419) [If Senator, use S. 819 instead of H.R. 1419);
• the need for legislative improvements to a number of the charitable provisions that were enacted as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA);
• our hope that you will join the bi-partisan Congressional Philanthropy Caucus

I will call your Washington, D.C. office to confirm receipt of this letter and to speak with your scheduler about a specific meeting date and time. Thank you in advance for the opportunity to meet with you.

Sincerely,

cc: ________________ [insert name of tax aide]

Download and Print a Copy of the Representative Meeting Request Letter

Download and Print a Copy of the Senate Meeting Request Letter

If you have questions or need assistance please contact Chatrane Birbal or 703/879-0689.