About the Caltech Associates

Associates members make annual tax-deductible membership gifts to Caltech. These gifts provide unrestricted funding that can be used where it's needed most, to fund promising early-stage research, enhance laboratory capabilities, and support faculty and students.

Members are invited to exclusive social events and curated travel opportunities with Institute faculty who share their latest investigations and discoveries. Members also enjoy unique access to Caltech, including eligibility for membership in the Braun Athletic Center, the Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union, and the Athenaeum, the Institute's storied private club, which offers reciprocal benefits at other private clubs worldwide.

The Associates are closely tied to the history of Caltech itself. In 1926, a group of 100 visionary philanthropists provided the financial support to transform what started as a small vocational school into an internationally renowned center for science, engineering, and technology.

At the time, Caltech comprised five buildings, part of a master plan by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, one of the nation's foremost architects. The orange groves, a symbol of the early campus, quickly disappeared as new structures were built. The emerging physical plant and increasing research commitments were a constant concern to Robert Andrews Millikan, director of physics research, chairman of the executive council, and Caltech's first Nobel laureate.

Along with Caltech trustee Henry Robinson and retired railroad magnate and art collector Henry E. Huntington, Millikan set out to recruit 100 founding members who "would be both able and eager to annually invest $1,000 for a period of ten years" to fund their vision for the Institute's future. When the Associates membership reached its initial goal of 100, composed of some of Southern California's most influential men and women, Huntington graciously invited them to hold the first formal meeting at his home.

When the Associates began, Caltech had only an engineering department and two basic sciences, chemistry and physics. In the years that followed, many Associates made substantial gifts in addition to their Associates membership to help build the foundations of the modern campus, including facilities for new biology and humanities departments and student housing.

Caltech's expanding intellectual community inspired renowned astronomer and Caltech trustee George Ellery Hale to conceive a gathering place for the Associates, faculty, and staff to promote the exchange of ideas in science, art, and literature. Associates Mr. and Mrs. Allan Balch provided the funds to build the elegant Athenaeum for use by the Institute faculty, the Associates, and the staffs of the Mount Wilson Observatory and the Huntington Library. Designed by Gordon Kaufmann, it is said to be one of the finest buildings of its kind in the country.

The Athenaeum was built during the very lean years of the Great Depression. In 1931, at the Associates' first formal dinner, many Associates welcomed visiting professor Albert Einstein as their inaugural speaker in the back meeting room of the Athenaeum, which is appropriately named the Hall of the Associates.

It is no exaggeration to say that Caltech is Caltech because of the Associates. The founders' legacy of sustained, unrestricted giving helped propel Caltech to global leadership in scientific research, attract and retain the brightest minds at every stage of scientific inquiry, and provide them with the resources to pursue their boldest ideas.

Over the course of the organization's first 100 years, Associates members gave more than $2.5 billion to support every aspect of the Institute's mission "to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education." The impact of the Associates and its members includes building numerous campus facilities, endowing professorships, fellowships, and scholarships, and funding early-stage investigations that have led to transformative breakthroughs.

Caltech has reshaped our understanding of the universe, life, and our planet. The Institute founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which helped launch space exploration, robotics, and aeronautics. Its researchers detected gravitational waves, developed the first automated DNA sequencer, and pioneered modern computer chips. Caltech scientists also created the Richter scale, uncovered the dangers of lead toxicity and vehicle emissions, and made advances in HIV research and in retinal implants that restore partial vision. Together, these discoveries have expanded human knowledge and improved lives around the world.

Investing in Caltech yields powerful results. Our faculty and students investigate the biggest ideas today, from environmental solutions to the exploration of our solar system and beyond, and from quantum computing to life-saving medical technologies.

Membership in the Associates opens the doors to the Caltech community. Members are invited to social events and inspiring travel opportunities featuring Institute faculty, students, and internationally renowned experts. These experiences offer timely, intimate insights into the Institute's latest discoveries and research in science, technology, engineering, medicine, and the arts. Regional chapters in Northern California, Orange County/San Diego, West Los Angeles, and the East Coast provide additional opportunities to engage.

As a member of the Caltech Associates, you have intimate opportunities to engage with Caltech faculty, Nobel Prize winners, JPL engineers, and luminaries at the forefront of their disciplines. You'll forge new friendships with fellow members, enjoy access to lifelong learning, and know that your tax-deductible membership gift helps make the world a better place through science and education.