12 tips to help you flex your fundraising muscle and build (or rebuild) an effective development office from the ground up.

By Ken Burnett

1. I'd aspire to be the most learned fundraiser of my generation

Apart from studying the lessons of history and going to the best seminars and workshops, for the fundraising resource center that I'd set about creating I'd (at the very least) get hold of the 10 best books on fundraising — and make sure they don't gather dust on the resource center's shelves but really get used. Plus I'd subscribe to the best trade magazines and journals around. And I'd encourage my colleagues to set aside half an hour each day for "essential fundraising reading" (in their own time, preferably). I'd challenge them to try to get at least one new idea from this every day that will help keep us just a bit ahead of everyone else who's clamoring for our donors' funds. And once each month at least, I'd encourage them to visit a fundraising organization with which they've had no prior contact whatsoever. Or to call a fundraiser for advice, someone they've never spoken to before. I'd also suggest, each day, that they wave at someone they don't know. But that may be going too far.