Executive Director of Development, UC Irvine
Duane Rohrbacher
I build the advancement architecture that moves mission-driven institutions from major-gift activity to transformational philanthropy. I help build the systems, leadership alignment, and donor strategies required to convert high-capacity relationships into durable philanthropic commitments.
The Approach
Building Principal-Gift Readiness
Transformational gifts rarely happen because a donor simply says yes to a larger ask. They require disciplined prospect strategy, leadership alignment, donor-specific concepts, and institutional infrastructure strong enough to support complexity.
Diagnose the Opportunity
Separate capacity from readiness by understanding the donor’s ambition, decision process, philanthropic history, institutional trust, and the conditions under which a larger commitment becomes plausible.
Align Leadership & Strategy
Principal and major gifts demand coordinated leadership. Align deans, vice provosts, faculty and senior leaders around the right opportunity, the right messenger, the right sequence, and the right next move.
Build the Gift Architecture
Translate institutional priorities into donor-specific concepts, structure the gift, manage complexity, and create stewardship systems that allow one commitment to become a long-term partnership.
Selected Work
Building Advancement Systems for Larger Gifts
Selected examples of fundraising strategy, principal-gift readiness, pipeline discipline, and donor-centered gift architecture.
From Early‑Stage Fundraising to a Durable Advancement Engine
Built fundraising infrastructure across emerging and evolving academic units, installing disciplined moves management, stewardship cadence, prospect strategy, and proposal development. Helped move programs from fragmented activity toward a repeatable advancement system capable of supporting seven‑figure commitments, advisory engagement, and long‑term pipeline growth.
Read more →Lead Gift | Special Education Initiative
Led strategy for a $1M commitment launching a school‑wide initiative to expand the special education educator pipeline. Built the case, aligned leadership, and translated an urgent workforce challenge into a fundable philanthropic opportunity.
Initiative details →Foundation Gift | Healthspan Sciences
Cultivated and secured a $1.3M foundation investment to accelerate research in healthspan science, structuring the opportunity around measurable impact, institutional priorities, and long‑term donor alignment.
Learn more →Media
Talks & Media
Selected talks and interviews on donor relationships, advancement systems, pipeline discipline, AI‑assisted fundraising workflows, and building operations that do not depend on individual memory.
From First Gift to Forever
Donor lifecycle management: identifying high-potential new donors and systematizing cultivation so pipeline health doesn't depend on individual memory.
Watch →Mastering Fundraising
A conversation on building durable fundraising operations: what scales, what breaks, and how to lead the work.
Watch →Systemizing Your Fundraising
Cadence, stewardship, segmentation, and building repeatable throughput, especially in small or lean shops.
Listen →Recognition
Selected Recognition
Third-party validation, kept brief.
Beyond Work
Discipline, Systems and Craft
The same habits that shape my professional work show up outside it: preparation, sequencing, patience, and execution under pressure.
Mountains
Kilimanjaro and Mount Whitney reinforced the value of pacing, decision‑making, preparation, and sustained effort over intensity.
19,341 ft / 14,505 ftTennis
Competitive match play rewards composure, pattern recognition, and disciplined execution. The mental game is the operating system.
Woodworking
Woodworking teaches the cost of poor preparation. Layout, sequence, and restraint determine the quality of the final result.
Connect
Let's Connect
For search committees or professional inquiries, email is best.