It can take from 6 to 24 months. It can require a series of 8 to 10 contacts over that period. The final stage of cultivation occurs when the prospect understands that you and a common objective, and a common vision for the future, that your track record of service performance is exemplary, that you have the capacity to deliver on your vision, and that the only thing standing between you and the common objective is a lack of money, which the prospect has. The gift becomes a natural resolution to a mutually recognized problem. If you have to convince someone to make a philanthropic gift, you have not completed your cultivation.
Cultivation is a two-way street.
You need to know your prospects just as they need to know you. You may discover during the course of cultivation that although a prospect may have the resources to give, you are not in a position to do the charitable work in which they are interested. If the fit between donor interest and charitable activity does not exist, there will be no gift. You may have to remove the prospect from your list and move on to someone else. They may ask to see a copy of your annual report, list of trustees, and endowment performance.