Executive Director of Development, UC Irvine

Duane Rohrbacher

I help fundraising shops run on discipline instead of heroics.

I'm a fundraising leader at UC Irvine and the creator of CRAFT, a framework for using AI in everyday advancement work. I share what I'm learning to help our community build more consistent practices and prepare for the future.

Selected Work Connect
11+
Commitments of $1M+
J.D./Ph.D.
Advancement Transformation
CRAFT
Creator of the Framework

The Story

The Story Behind CRAFT

CRAFT grew out of recurring problems in my own work: inconsistent contact reports and repetitive preparation for donor meetings, leadership briefings, and event table bios. These tasks matter. They preserve what we know about donors and help colleagues show up prepared.

I developed CRAFT (Capture, Refine, Analyze, Formulate, Track) to bring consistency to that work. In my practice, it helps me maintain accurate donor information, preserve institutional knowledge, and prepare efficiently.

The Approach

From Heroics to Discipline

Most fundraising shops run on heroics: individual talent, memory, and effort. That doesn't scale, and it walks out the door when your best people leave. The shops that win build discipline into the operating system: every interaction captured, every follow-up systematized, every decision informed. That's the transformation I lead.

01

Install the Discipline

CRAFT (Capture, Refine, Analyze, Formulate, Track) turns AI from a collection of individual hacks into a repeatable operating system for the whole shop. Contact reports filed the day of the visit. Donor briefings that build themselves. Stewardship that compounds instead of depending on memory.

02

Systematize the Operation

Moves management, stewardship cadence, prospect strategy, and pipeline discipline, installed as infrastructure, not carried in anyone's head. The shop keeps working when the hero takes a vacation.

03

Lead the Transformation

Align deans, faculty, and senior leaders around the change itself: campaign readiness, KPI frameworks, forecasting, and executive dashboards. The leadership work that makes the system stick.

Selected Work

Selected Fundraising Work

A selection of fundraising work from my career.

Engine

The UC Irvine Lab

At UC Irvine I lead advancement strategy across a multi-unit education portfolio: portfolio strategy, KPI frameworks, forecasting tools, and executive dashboards, behind 11+ commitments of $1M+.

Read the Chronicle →
$1M

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 →
$1.3M

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 →
Paper

From Prediction to Discipline

An invited paper on the CRAFT framework for AI-assisted advancement workflows, submitted to the Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing. An acceptance decision is pending.

Media

Talks & Media

Selected talks, interviews, and writing on AI-assisted fundraising workflows, advancement systems, and building operations that don't depend on individual memory.

Weekly · Briefing

The CRAFT Chronicle

What happened in philanthropy this week, and why it matters to working fundraisers: every story mapped onto the CRAFT framework.

Read →
Course · UC Irvine DCE

Fundraising Fundamentals

The specialized studies certificate I teach through UC Irvine's Division of Continuing Education: the CRAFT system, taught the way I actually run it.

Enroll →
Vimeo · Talk

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 →
YouTube · Interview

Mastering Fundraising

A conversation on building durable fundraising operations: what scales, what breaks, and how to lead the work.

Watch →
Podcast · Nonprofit Lowdown

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.

AFP ICON · Speaker
Conference schedule
2026
Fundraiser of the Year · AFP Orange County
Award announcement post
2022
40 Under 40 · Greater Irvine Chamber
Official honorees list
2023
AFP Leadership Institute · Cohort 2
AFP announcement post
2023
AFP-OC Conference on Philanthropy · Speaker
Session listing
2025
Alumni Board Member · Ohio State
College of Arts and Sciences
2026

Beyond Work

Beyond Work

🏔

Mountaineering

I enjoy the physical challenge, the isolation, and the freedom from distractions. The consequences of mistakes demand my full attention.

🎾

Tennis

I'll never be great at tennis, and that's part of the appeal. You can improve and still lose. There's no team to rely on when you're serving down 30–40 at match point.

🪚

Woodworking

Woodworking gives me room to be creative while demanding precision. There's always something to improve, and I'll never perfect it.

Connect

Let's Connect

For professional inquiries, email is best.

me@duanerohrbacher.com

Or follow the work weekly in The CRAFT Chronicle.