To do fundraising right primarily requires common sense, an interest in people, and a desire to tell the world about the work of your organization. Like many who've done development at a professional level, my first experiences were simply helping out within an organization for whom I worked in a different capacity. I didn't do too badly--but I could have done so much better if I'd known what experienced fundraisers know.
There is a method and science to fundraising, and learning more can save an organization many false steps and wasted hours. Not to mention that nonprofits must operate within certain legal parameters, and certain mistakes by the development department could actually put the organization's tax-exempt status at risk.