Ken Burnett

Ken Burnett is a writer, communicator and inspirational speaker. He’s author of several influential books on donor development and communication, including Relationship Fundraising, the Zen of Fundraising, Tiny Essentials of an Effective Volunteer Board, Storytelling Can Change the World and The essence of Campaigning Fundraising in 52 exhibits and 199 web links, all available on Amazon or from the White Lion Press website. Ken’s latest book, the fully revised and updated Third Edition of his classic 1992 text Relationship Fundraising, is now available on Amazon and also from The White Lion Press.

Chairman of Trustees at ActionAid from 1998 to 2003, Ken began his fundraising career with that charity in 1977 and since has been a leading fundraising strategist in the UK and around the world. He’s co-founder of SOFII, the Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration (with his late wife, Marie), a former independent trustee of the Disasters Emergency Committee, former trustee of The World Land Trust. In July 2015 Ken was invited as plenary guest speaker at the 1st China Fundraising Conference in Beijing – the only non-Chinese speaker at this event. In June 2026 Ken delivered the opening plenary address at the German National Fundraising Congress in Berlin. In 2015 he co-founded the Commission on the Donor Experience with the aim of putting the donor, rather than fundraisers’ targets, at the heart of fundraising strategies, in the belief that this will be more productive and sustainable for both causes and donors, long term. Some personal background: Ken’s learning to be a potter, and not so long ago he wrote, directed and appeared in ‘The Great Huntingfield Brain Robbery’, a murder mystery farce with a cast of 25 put on by the amateur theatre group in his small Suffolk village. A total of four plays were produced by the group, three of them written and directed by Ken. Great fun!

Please note: Ken did not write the Project Management Paradigm or Why Pray for Israel. These books were written by different Ken Burnetts, which doesn’t mean they're any less delightful, just not by this Ken.

For more see the Ken Burnett archive on SOFII, the Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration and for a more detailed biography visit Ken Burnett’s website.