WealthEngine

We all know how it works: you research an individual or you screen a list of donors or prospects and your results are returned ready to go. How “ready to go” the results are is subjective depending on your organization’s needs and processes. In some cases, prospect researchers will begin the process of validating the data so each constituent can be segmented and moved into the appropriate donor or prospect category (major gift, annual giving, etc.).

What is Validation? Validation is the process of reviewing details of a screening’s matched results and can take minutes—or hours—depending on the strategy maintained by the organization and the level of detail necessary needed for the prospect or donor profile. Extensive validation requires evaluating each component or data source of a profile separately to determine whether the information is accurate and matched correctly to your prospect. In other cases, validation will involve segmenting the list by WealthEngine’s ratings and scores, particularly the P2G (Propensity to Give) and then drilling down when necessary to review common names or preferred data sources (Hoover’s or MarketGuide for executive compensation, for example).

Either way, validation should occur prior to importing screening results into your donor management system (DMS) or using it for cultivation and solicitation so you can ensure your data is reliable and on target with your fundraising approach.

What Might Happen if You Don’t Validate Your Data? Neglecting to validate screening data leaves an organization at risk of making inaccurate assumptions about prospects’ wealth, business affiliations, and even philanthropic interests. Such misinformation can culminate in wasted time and resources or even solicitation strategies that are way off-base. The best approach is to determine your goals for researching the individual or list and planning how to review and segment the results accordingly. If you would like to learn more about validating data, please contact your client service representative at customerservice@wealthengine.com.