Sample Permission Request Letter

Dear Youth Communication:

The Children's Rights Organization would like to excerpt "My Life in Foster Care," by William Hicks which appeared in the May/June 1997 issue of Represent (formerly Foster Care Youth United), in our newsletter, The Child Advocate.

The Child Advocate (circ. 750) goes to our members, most of whom are foster parents in Texas.

We want to excerpt William's article because it shows how teens feel about living in foster homes where they are treated with dignity and respect. We think William and his foster parents are great examples for our subscribing families.

We have attached a copy of the article, as we would like to run it.

[We are a nonprofit organization, and we don't customarily pay for newsletter articles. However, we have enclosed a check to Youth Communication for your minimum fee of $35. We understand that this amount will be forwarded to William.]

or

[Our customary payment to writers is 25 cents a word. Enclosed is a check for $212.50 to reprint this 850 word story.]

We will run the story with the following credit line: "Excerpted with permission from Represent, Copyright 1997 by Youth Communication/New York Center, Inc. For more information, contact Youth Communication, 224 W. 29th St., 2nd fl., New York, NY 10001. Youthcomm.org."

Thank you for your consideration.