Founding Membership.
A founding member is an institutional participant that commits early to the Alliance's structure and participates in defining its operational standards. The first fifty institutions to take this commitment shape the framework that subsequent members enter.
What a founding member is.
Founding members are institutions whose work intersects with the settlement of real estate — title companies, escrow companies, flat-fee brokerages, and technology partners building for the post-commission market. They are not customers of the Alliance. They are co-formers of its operating standards during the period in which those standards remain open to definition.
Once the Alliance reaches operational maturity and its standards are closed to revision, founding membership is a permanent designation of record. The institutions that participated in the formation period remain marked as founding participants regardless of subsequent membership composition.
The role of a founding member.
Founding members do three things that ordinary members do not.
- Contribute to the definition of operational standards. The Open Settlement Standard, the verification framework for nodes and members, the disciplinary procedures for breach of the founding principles — each is composed during the formation period with input from founding members.
- Participate in early governance formation. Founding members hold rotating advisory seats during the period before the Alliance's permanent governance is constituted. Advisory participation is structured as input on draft standards, not as control of the institution.
- Are first considered for node operation. Title companies and escrow companies among the founding membership are the first candidates evaluated for node operator status when the network activates in their territories. Priority is procedural, not preferential — the same operational and licensure standards apply.
What founding designation conveys.
Rotating, not permanent.
Founding members hold rotating advisory seats during the formation period. Advisory authority is bounded by the founding principles and does not include unilateral control of Alliance direction.
Priority of consideration.
Title companies and escrow companies among the founding membership are the first candidates evaluated for node operator designation when the network activates within their territories.
Open Settlement Standard.
Founding members contribute to the development of the Open Settlement Standard — the technical and procedural framework that governs settlement workflow within the Alliance's operating perimeter.
Early infrastructure work.
Founding members coordinate with Real Smart Ledger LLC, the Alliance's independent infrastructure provider, on integration and verification work during the period before live transaction operations begin.
Founding Member of record.
The designation is recorded in the Alliance's founding documentation and persists permanently regardless of subsequent membership composition or institutional changes.
Bounded participation.
Founding membership is closed once fifty institutions have taken commitment. The bound is structural — the formation period is finite, and the standards composed during it are finalized at its close.
Terms of participation.
- Annual
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$10,000 per year.
Annual founding participation. Paid in advance of each membership year. Standing is contingent on continued payment and adherence to the Alliance's code of conduct.
- Founding
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$25,000 one-time.
Permanent founding contribution. Standing as a founding member is conferred without further annual payment, subject only to adherence to the Alliance's code of conduct.
- Limit
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The first fifty institutions.
Founding membership closes upon receipt of commitment from the fiftieth qualifying institution. The Alliance does not reopen the founding tier once closed.
- Eligibility
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Institutional, by inquiry.
Founding membership is institutional and is conferred by inquiry rather than by self-serve registration. The Alliance reviews each prospective founding institution against the operational and reputational standards expected of long-term Alliance participants.
Founding membership is a participation commitment to the Alliance, not an investment. AOREP is organized as a for-profit company under the laws of the State of Wyoming. Founding contributions confer membership standing as described above. They do not confer ownership, equity, or financial return, and they are not tax-deductible. Institutions considering founding membership are encouraged to review the terms with their own counsel and tax advisors.
Submit an institutional inquiry.
Title companies, escrow companies, flat-fee brokerages, and technology partners considering founding membership are invited to contact the Office of the Chairman directly. The Alliance will provide founding member materials and arrange a review conversation with the inquiring institution's principals.
info@aorep.org
Please indicate "Founding Membership Inquiry" in the subject line.