This article walks users through the steps of completing the Letter of Intent (LOI) in the application process.

Step 1: FOA/NOTA: Letter of Intent (LOI) – Basic Applicant Information

If a Letter of Intent is applicable to an announcement, this will be the first submission type to complete when applying to an opportunity.

The first section, Basic Applicant Information, contains the following:

• Applicant Initiator: Pre-populated with the user who started the application and is read-only.
• Project Title: This is the unique title for the proposed project, which is populated with the Project Title that was entered in the Apply to Opportunity pop-up window but can be edited.
• Organization Name: Lists the Lead Organization of the application and is read-only.
• Organization Type: Provides the type of organization as displayed in the Organization profile and is provided from Sam.gov.

The data entered in the Letter of Intent submission is carried forward and auto-populates the appropriate fields in both the Concept Paper and Full Application. This data remains editable as needed.

Step 2: FOA/NOTA: Letter of Intent (LOI) – Point of Contact

Point of Contact is the section where the Applicant will enter the person responsible for the administrative aspects of an application and the resulting award. The person entered here will be listed as the Business POC in the Concept Paper and Full Application. However, this can be changed in those submissions as needed. 


There are three different ways to add a point of contact on the Letter of Intent as well as the Concept Paper and Full Application.

• Option 1 – Select add yourself as the point of contact link to add yourself as the POC. Selecting this option will populate your contact information that currently exists in the EERE Program Information Center.
• Option 2- Search for existing users. After entering at least 3 letters, the search bar will drop down with potential results of users showing their first/last name, email, and organization or Manual Entry. If Manual Entry is selected, the user's information will need to be entered manually.
• Option 3 – Select Add Unregistered Contact. This option should be used if you want to invite a user who doesn't have an account in the system. This option displays when you search for a user and the user is not in the search results, meaning they do not have an account in the system. After clicking on Add Unregistered Contact, you will then manually enter the person's information.                                                                                                                                                                                                          After entering user information if applicable, click Save, and the Send Invitation link is enabled. This action sends the individual an email with a link to register in the system and access this application.

This application will now appear on this user's My Application Page.

Step 3: FOA/NOTA: Letter of Intent (LOI) – Organizations and Key Participants

The Organizations and Key Participants sections contain the organizations and key individuals that will participate in the project. Information entered here carries forward to the other submission types (e.g. Concept Paper, Full Application).

In the Organizations section:

1. The Lead organization is listed by default. You will need to select the percent of project being performed by the lead organization.
2. Additional organizations can be added by selecting Add Organization and either searching for an organization registered in the system or by manually adding an organization.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   To add an organization that is not in the system, you may select Add New and manually input the organization name.
3. The Project Role will need to be selected for each organization. Here you will indicate whether the organization is participating as a Sub-Recipient on the project or a Vendor. Also, the Percent of Project will need to be entered to provide each organization's expected contribution to the project.                                                                     A Sub-Recipient is an organization that will share in the award with the Lead Organization.                                                                                                                                     A Vendor is an organization that will provide materials or services to the Lead Organization.
4. If a registered organization is entered, the Organization Type will populate with information from SAM.gov                                                                                                           The organization type will need to be manually selected if the organization is not in the system.                                                                                                                          An organization can also be deleted by clicking the delete icon on the right.

In the Key Participants section:

1. Add Key Participant by either searching for a registered user or manually adding in an unregistered contact.
2. Select the organization the individual is associated with by selecting from a drop down of the organizations that are added in the Organizations Section

Step 4: FOA/NOTA: Letter of Intent (LOI) – Abstract 

The Abstract is the last section of the Letter of Intent. Applicants may add an abstract one of two ways: in the system or by uploading a document.

1. If In the System is selected, the user must enter the abstract in the text field.
2. If By Upload is selected, the user can upload a document by clicking the Upload Document link. Only one file can be uploaded. Once you have uploaded a document, you will see the Action icon (three dots) to either edit or delete the document

Step 5: FOA/NOTA: Letter of Intent (LOI) – Validate and Submit

1. The Letter of Intent can be submitted by selecting the Submit button at the bottom of the page.
2. Prior to submitting, the applicant should enable Show Validation Warnings (left bottom page wizard) to ensure all required elements have been completed and any errors have been corrected.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           If there are any validation errors on the application, the applicant will see the Needs Attention status indicator next to the applicable page and an orange text box will appear at the top of applicable pages with the fields that need attention
3. Once all required fields are completed without validation errors, there are 2 confirmation check boxes:
   1. A check box indicating that the applicant agrees to the terms and conditions as described in the announcement document.
   2. A checkbox certifying that you are authorized to submit the application on behalf of your organization.
   3. Checking those boxes enables the Submit button.
   4. After clicking the Submit button a pop-up confirmation window, titled Submit Letter of Intent - Request Received, appears letting the submitted know that their request has been received and is being processed and that they will be notified when their submission request is completed.

A confirmation email is sent to the individual who started the application, the Authorized Organization Representative, the Point of Contact on the application, and the individual who submitted the application.

Upon submitting the Letter of Intent, applicants are invited to take the submission survey through a pop-up window.