Typical Timeframe from Proposal to Funding

We often get asked how long fundraising will take when working with Connective Impact. While there’s no typical timeframe from making a donor connection to when funding comes in the door, I usually estimate anywhere from 6 to 18 months. 

If the fit is spot on, which is always our goal, and the donor is able to use existing budget, then funding can take as literal as a couple of months. 

For a donor that has a more intricate proposal process, and requires multiple steps for approval, it can take much longer. 

What’s the lesson in thinking about timelines for funding? 

1. Have your material ready and editable so that as we’re thinking about donor fit, and any kind of urgent timelines, we can get your material out the door as fast as possible. 

2. When developing your pipeline, rank your programs by sense of urgency. This is what we do with our Level 3 members. We think about what funding must come in the door in the next 12 months vs what funding will help augment the growth of the organization over the next couple of years. This allows us to segment the programs we engage on now vs where we start to build a relationship for longer term funding.

3. In your prospect list, capture what is reasonable to come in the door sooner than later, and what’s more likely down the road by funder type. This keeps your projections realistic and actionable.

Ultimately having your priorities in order, a sense of your funding needs and the type of funder you think would be a good fit, will allow us to move as quickly as we can on our side. From there it's relying on how fast the funder will move to determine what's achievable.