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The Gift of Membership

Well-dressed friends toast and talk around an elegant dinner table.

For nearly 100 years, Caltech Associates members have helped the California Institute of Technology push the boundaries of discovery in science and engineering, leading to world-changing advances in human knowledge.

Your membership gift is tax-deductible and opens the doors to the Caltech community. As an Associate, you become part of a group that socializes, learns, dines, and travels together with access to campus amenities and faculty-led events and trips.

Community Courtesies

Members enjoy access to exclusive dining, events, and travel with Caltech faculty.
Explore membership features.

Membership Options

Your annual tax-deductible membership gift may be made in quarterly installments.
Learn about membership levels.

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Begin a new membership as a gift or for yourself in just a few clicks.
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Caltech Associates members enjoy a world of exciting possibilities for travel, learning, and discovery. Our event and travel programs feature Caltech faculty and frequently include private access to facilities after hours or even those not generally open to the public.

Aboard the Lindblad National Geographic Islander II
Caltech Associates experience first-class excursions with premier tour operators and Caltech faculty as their guides. Photo courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions.

A Passport to Discovery

The Caltech Associates Travel Program is designed for the intellectually curious traveler who enjoys unique destinations and five-star amenities. Each experience is enhanced by a Caltech faculty guide whose expertise will illuminate the journey.

We work with premier tour operators to prepare itineraries incorporating the locale's scientific, cultural, and historical highlights. We frequently enjoy exclusive, private access to laboratories, museums, observatories, and other facilities not readily available to the general public. Every detail is arranged so that you may immerse yourself in the adventure.

Recent excursions have included Antarctica, the Galápagos Islands, and Italy. In 2025, we'll tour UNESCO heritage sites in Vietnam. Two or three trips are offered annually to both international and domestic locations.

Our faculty guides for each trip are selected specifically to match their backgrounds and areas of research to the destinations and itineraries. This ensures an educational aspect to our travel program that elevates it to extraordinary.

Caltech Associates members visit JPL mission control.
Caltech Associates members are invited to exclusive events that feature fine dining and presentations from Caltech faculty and often include private access to fascinating facilities like Mission Control at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, pictured here.

Connect & Learn

With active chapters in Pasadena, Orange County, Northern California, and the East Coast, the Caltech Associates program hosts engaging events throughout the year that showcase the discoveries of Institute faculty and researchers at the frontiers of science and engineering.

About 20 such events are planned annually. These are lively social occasions with exquisite dining and presentations on the latest advances in medical technology, engineering, quantum science, renewable energy, space exploration, and so much more.

These gatherings offer regular opportunities for Caltech Associates members to learn about what's new and what's next directly from the people defining future directions in a broad range of disciplines. They also include Q&A sessions that afford the chance to gain even more insight.

Events are held on campus and at private clubs, renowned research facilities, and noteworthy cultural venues, often with special access.

The West Patio at Caltech's The Athenaeum
Designed by renowned architect Gordon Kaufmann, The Atheneum offers fine dining and hospitality services with classic elegance in Pasadena, California.

Access to Campus Amenities

In addition to our event and travel programs, Caltech Associates members enjoy other distinctive courtesies. These include eligibility to join The Athenaeum, the Institute's storied private club, which confers reciprocal admission to a collection of other premier clubs worldwide.

They may also join the Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union for exceptional financial services and the Braun Athletic Center, which offers over 3,500 square feet of weight and cardiovascular equipment, swimming pools, tennis and racquetball courts, and even a climbing wall—all priced well below typical fitness center fees.

Since 1926, the Caltech Associates have provided financial support through their membership gifts to help place the Institute among the most influential centers of learning and discovery, one that has redefined the outlines of the universe as we know it.

Albert Einstein in front of The Athenaeum at Caltech.
Albert Einstein outside The Athenaeum in 1932. The Institute has been home to investigations by many of the greatest minds of the modern era. To date, 46 Caltech alumni, faculty, and postdocs have won 47 Nobel Prizes.

Established by 100 generous Southern California families led by railroad magnate and art collector Henry E. Huntington, the Associates propelled Caltech through the tumultuous first half of the twentieth century. They helped secure the foundation for unprecedented breakthroughs and confirmed Caltech as a global leader in science and engineering.

Our faculty and students investigate the biggest ideas today, from environmental solutions to exploring our solar system and beyond, from quantum computing to life-saving medical technologies. You can be a part of this history, supporting visionary thinkers and educating future leaders as you make a philanthropic mark of your own.

By joining the Associates, you are investing in human progress. Your gift supports Caltech's top research and educational priorities. You can also give a membership to a family member or friend.

Membership Levels

All gifts of cash and appreciated securities are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Corporate matching gifts are gladly accepted. You may pay your membership gift in up to four quarterly installments.

Two renewable membership levels, Ambassador and President's Circle, are currently offered. Their included features are as follows:

Ambassador ($4,000 annually)

  • Invitations to programs and events featuring Caltech faculty, including luncheons, dinners, field trips, off-campus events, and regional events held in Pasadena, Southern California, Northern California, and the East Coast.
  • Eligibility to join The Athenaeum, Caltech's Braun Athletic Facilities and recreation programs, the Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union, and the Caltech Women's Club.
  • VIP tickets for two at the Watson Lecture series and specific public events at Beckman Auditorium.
  • $5 discount to CaltechLive special performances.
  • A 10% discount at the Caltech Bookstore (some exclusions apply).

President's Circle ($10,000 or more annually)

All the features of Ambassador, plus:

  • Invitations to the annual President's Circle Garden Party held at the home of Caltech's President and other special events.
  • Priority registration for select Associates events.
  • Priority registration for select Associates travel opportunities.
  • VIP tickets for four at the Watson Lecture series and specific public events at Beckman Auditorium.
  • VIP lounge access during specific ticketed Beckman Auditorium events.

For more information, we invite you to call us at (626) 395-3919.

Begin a new membership and open the door to a world of discovery with Caltech and the Caltech Associates. We will be delighted to welcome you!

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