Data Mining and Predictive Modeling
What makes Relationship Mapping Technology (RMT) so important is its ability to take a large quantity of data (millions of public documents) and distill and connect it (show the relationships) in a way that is easy to understand, manipulate and act upon.
That is why, even though not the focus of this site, I feel it is important to highlight another extremely useful and very commplimentary technology to RMT: Predictive Modeling through Data Mining.
If you're not familiar with this technology, I encourage you to learn how this can double or even triple the ROI in your annual fund program. But it doesn't stop there - learn more by visiting one of the best groups to do this type of work: Data Description, Inc.
The partnership between John Sammis and Peter Wylie has done a great service to development work:
John C. Sammis is the president and chief operating officer of Data Description. Mr. Sammis combines a B.S. in Engineering from Clarkson University with an M.B.A. from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. He has five years of engineering experience with IBM; two years as a chemical engineer in a manufacturing facility and three as a systems engineer in marketing. He has spent 15 years in the computer industry and has extensive experience in project management, product marketing, software design and cash flow management. Since 1991, Mr. Sammis has been the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of Data Description.
Peter Wylie is a nationally recognized industrial psychologist and data analyst who teaches advancement professionals how to mine donor databases to find predictors of giving. The author of Data Mining for Fundraisers (Washington, D.C.: Council for Advancement and Support of Education, 2004. ISBN: 0-89964-380-9), Mr. Wylie has consulted for more than a hundred fundraising organizations, has presented at dozens of conferences, and has written several well-received white papers on this topic. He collaborated with Data Description to develop KeyDonor, the company’s new multimedia course in data mining for advancement professionals.