Become a Member

Membership

Member Benefits

Quilt members are our country’s leaders in advanced networking in support of research and education. The Quilt provides a national forum for these leaders to collaborate on items of importance to serving our members’ missions. The Quilt advocates on behalf of our members’ interests with national and multi-regional organizations, such as federal government funding sources and optical network equipment providers. Our members leverage the collective consortia and buying power of The Quilt which contributes to the value each member provides to their customers. For instance, since 2002 The Quilt participants have saved over $254 million on Commodity Internet Services by using Quilt-negotiated rates.

Quilt Membership Benefits by Member Category

Member Categories

Member Categories and Eligibility Criteria

Full

Full member status is open to any non-profit institution:

  • that is based in the United States, and which provides significant regional aggregation of research and education community traffic and advanced network services beyond what is normally available on the commodity Internet;
  • whose mission and goals are aligned with those of The Quilt, and
  • which is approved by The Quilt Board of Directors.

Associate

An organization may be considered eligible for Associate status if:

  • it meets the qualifications for full membership as an organization and;
  • it is actively engaged in and contributes to The Quilt forums, priorities, and goals, and
  • it supports the objective to transition to full membership status within an approximate two-year timeframe with the mutual agreement and support of The Quilt Board of Directors.

Affiliate

An organization may be considered eligible for Affiliate status if:

  • its mission and goals are aligned with those of The Quilt;
  • it provides relevant support services for advanced networking in support of research and education, and
  • it meets any additional criteria for Affiliates as may be established from time to time by The Quilt Board of Directors, and
  • is approved for Affiliate Status by The Quilt Board of Directors.

How To Join

How To Join

Membership requests should be directed to info@thequilt.net to be considered. There is no formal application document. However, Membership requests should contain the following information and   a suggested membership application template  can be found here.

  • Name of organization
  • Affirmation of non-profit status
  • Point of contact
  • Number of connections, who they are and speed which they connect
  • URL for the organization’s website
  • Summary of networking activities, especially high-performance networking and research and education activities associated with your organization
  • Statement of purpose for requesting to participate in The Quilt

Once the information is submitted it will be reviewed by the President and The Quilt Executive Committee in order to determine if the organization meets the eligibility requirements. Then, the application will be reviewed by The Quilt Board of Directors at its next quarterly meeting.

New full membership applications will be initially considered for associate membership.  At the discretion of The Quilt Board of Directors, organizations which meet the criteria for membership will also be invited to apply.

Annual Dues

Annual Member Dues

2023 2024
Full Membership Dues $18,500 $19,055
Associates Dues $10,000 $10,300
Affiliate Dues $2,900 $2,985