Executive Director of Development, UC Irvine
Duane Rohrbacher
$31M+ in personally secured philanthropic revenue. I partner with donors to translate what they care about into transformational commitments, then build the infrastructure that makes the impact last.
The Approach
How I Work with Donors
Philanthropy works when the donor's ambition meets institutional need with precision. I keep the process simple, honest, and anchored to what the donor wants to accomplish.
Listen First
Every relationship starts with the same question: what do you want to accomplish? Not what the institution needs: what matters to you. The donor's vision sets the direction. My job is to understand it deeply enough to align it with real institutional priorities.
Align & Structure
Once I understand the donor's intent, I translate it into a concrete opportunity, connecting their philanthropic goals with the programs, faculty, and strategic priorities that make the investment credible and impactful. This is where complexity becomes clarity.
Close & Steward
I ask the donor what they believe their vision is worth, then negotiate the impact against the investment. After the commitment, I stay. Stewardship is where trust compounds; where a single gift becomes a lifelong partnership.
Selected Work
Closing Transformational Gifts
Principal commitments secured through disciplined cultivation and donor-centered strategy.
Built a Fundraising Engine from Near-Zero
Grew annual giving from $95K to a $2.0M run-rate and expanded the active donor base from 35 to 200+ while navigating a founding-dean transition and the unit's elevation into a new school. Installed disciplined moves management, stewardship cadence, and a proposal inventory that created a durable pipeline feeding 10 commitments of $1M or more.
Building the School of Pharmacy →Lead Gift | Special Education Initiative
Led strategy and execution to secure a $1M lead commitment launching a school-wide initiative to expand the special education educator pipeline. Built the case, aligned campus leadership, and converted urgency into a fundable investment.
Special Education Initiative →Foundation Gift | Healthspan Sciences
Cultivated and closed a $1.3M foundation investment to accelerate research in healthspan science. Structured the opportunity around measurable impact, institutional priorities, and durable donor alignment.
Kay Family Foundation Gift →Media
Talks & Media
Selected talks and interviews on donor relationships, pipeline discipline, and building fundraising operations that last.
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.
The Landscape
Where I Go
The work I do is about building things that last. The places I go remind me why that matters.
Kilimanjaro
Summited Uhuru Peak via the Lemosho Route. Seven days of altitude, patience, and one step at a time.
19,341 ftMount Whitney
Highest peak in the contiguous United States. A single-push summit from Whitney Portal on a 2 a.m. alpine start.
14,505 ftThe Garden
Native species cultivation at home. Small-scale stewardship of the land: the same discipline, slower pace.
Off the Clock
Tennis & Woodworking
Two practices that require the same thing: preparation, composure, and execution.
Tennis
Competitive match play. The mental game is the real game-staying present point by point, managing emotion, executing a plan under pressure. Clear next steps and steady execution beat intensity every time.
Woodworking
Joinery, hand tools, and the patience to get the layout right before making a cut. The result is earned in the preparation-rush the setup, and you spend the rest correcting errors.
Connect
Let's Connect
For search committees or professional inquiries, email is best.