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Giving Societies

The Caltech Fund is grateful to all donors who make the Institute a philanthropic priority. Alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends provide funding to continue to attract and retain top tier faculty, make undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships available to talented students, expand enriching student life programming, and provide the flexibility that enables the Institute to immediately seize opportunities and address concerns..

The 1891 Society and Caltech Fund Catalysts are designed to honor those donors who offer extraordinary levels of support, either by giving each and every year without fail or by making leadership-level gifts through the Caltech Fund. We invite you to join one or both of these important groups.


Coelostat in the Linde + Robinson Laboratory

1891 Society

In 1891, noted Pasadena philanthropist Amos G. Throop established Throop University, the precursor to the California Institute of Technology (1920). It is thanks to the effort of many that Caltech quickly became a preeminent institution of research, education, and instrumentation. In that spirit, the Caltech Fund is proud to recognize alumni for their consecutive years of investment in the Institute's mission to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education.

Alumni are eligible for special announcements and recognition as members of the 1891 Society whenever they have made a gift to Caltech (in any amount) for three or more consecutive years, including the current fiscal year.

Caltech Fund Catalysts

The ambitions of Caltech's students and faculty are continually growing, and the resources required to achieve them must grow, too.  We are grateful to the individuals who support these innovators and investigators each year by making gifts through the Caltech Fund at the highest levels. We proudly recognize and honor these generous donors as Caltech Fund Catalysts.

Become a Caltech Fund Catalyst Today

The group's name calls to mind chemical reactions made more efficient as catalysts lower the requisite activation energy.  At the Institute, philanthropists have a similar effect, removing barriers to make learning, teaching, and discovering more accessible for students and faculty.

Qualifying for Membership

Your membership level will be based on the total of your Caltech Fund gifts and pledge payments plus any matching gift payments received during a single fundraising year (October 1 to September 30). You will be asked to renew your support annually. Recognition is offered at the following levels:


Honoring You

Because of the important role that you play at the Institute, you will be connected to a campus liaison who can assist you with your philanthropy and serve as a resource for questions about Caltech. You will also receive:

·         Special communications
·         Updates from the Institute
·         Event invitations
·         A report on the collective impact you and your fellow Caltech Fund Catalysts had on students and faculty in the previous fundraising year

Make the greatest impact you can by providing immediate, flexible funding to the areas that need it most: Make a Caltech Fund Catalyst-level gift today.

For more information on joining the 1891 Society or Caltech Fund Catalysts, please contact Mark Casey, Executive Director of the Caltech Fund.

Mark Casey

(626) 395-6290
mcasey@caltech.edu