Funding Priorities

CWI is ready to advance. It has leadership, vision, energy, place, and purpose. Those who are most deeply connected to its mission can make CWI’s highest aspirations a reality and build a more vibrant and dynamic future by meeting these critical needs:

Expand the Brian C. Pohanka Internship Program

Thanks to the generosity of the John J. Pohanka Family Foundation, the Brian C. Pohanka Internship Program was established in 2011 to provide stipends for students completing summer internships with a range of National Parks and private museums, including Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP, Vicksburg NMP, Stratford Hall, and Appomattox Court House NHP. The program provides participants a unique opportunity to do paid work on the frontlines of history. Interns give public tours of iconic historic sites, gain hands-on experience with original artifacts and documents, assist with the management of historic landscapes, and lead children’s programs. More than two-thirds of Gettysburg College students rely upon scholarships and grants to fund their education, as well as earned income from work over the summer or during breaks. Without the Pohanka Internship Program, many students would be unable to accept an internship at one of these partner sites.

Donate to the Brian C. Pohanka Internship Program

Build the Gary W. Gallagher Fund

CWI’s newest fund is devoted to student professional opportunities in the field of battlefield preservation and historic preservation, an area that falls outside of the parameters of the Pohanka internship program. Many internship opportunities in preservation law, lobbying, and policy are frequently located in urban areas with steep housing costs; housing stipends from this fund will thus open new opportunities to students.  Resources from the Gallagher endowment will also be used to compensate adjuncts to teach courses in preservation law, non-profit management, and historic preservation.

Donate to the Gary W. Gallagher Fund

Build the Gabor S. Boritt Endowed Fund

Established in honor of Dr. Gabor S. Boritt, long-time director of CWI and an internationally renowned scholar of Lincoln and the American Civil War, awards from the fund are presented to students, educators, and scholars/historians to enable them to attend the annual conference and other CWI functions. The fund honors Gabor Boritt’s vital contributions to the scholarship on the American Civil War and indispensable role in making the Institute what it is today.

Donate to the Gabor S. Boritt Endowed Fund

Boost the CWI Special Gifts Fund

The Special Gifts Fund provides flexible support for CWI’s work across a number of fronts. Gifts to this account further the Institute’s capability to foster innovative student work through the CWI Fellows Program (such as participation in digital and video projects and experiential learning opportunities on the battlefield and in local museums); introduce new elements into summer conference programming (i.e., socials, special programming for retirees, and more options for the physically active); and provide new offerings, such as a weekend fall battlefield program.

Donate to the Special Gifts Fund


To learn more about these funds and additional ways to support CWI, please contact us at civilwar@gettysburg.edu.