What Inter Collegiate Review does

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov and first president William F. Buckley Jr. to advance conservative intellectual education in American higher education. Headquartered at a 3901 Centerville Road campus in Wilmington, Delaware, ISI operates an integrated ecosystem of content products and in-person programs serving undergraduate students, graduate fellows, college faculty, alumni, and donors. Core offerings include the Honors Program (a selective weeklong undergraduate fellowship), the Richard M. Weaver Graduate Fellowship ($5,000–$15,000 awards to ~15 graduate students annually), ISI Forums (on-campus faculty-led seminars with $500 honoraria), and a network of 60+ student-led campus chapters. Content platforms include the Modern Age quarterly journal (founded 1957), the Intercollegiate Review Substack newsletter, the Conservative Conversations podcast, and Studio 53, a professional video production facility producing the Project Cosmos and Daring Greatly series.

ISI's media distribution layer is anchored by the Collegiate Network, which supports 90+ independent student publications with 800+ active journalists and recently launched collegiatenetwork.com as a national aggregator. The organization monetizes primarily through private philanthropy rather than commercial pricing: individual donations and planned giving feed a tiered 1953 Society giving club ($1,000–$50,000+ annually), supplemented by endowment income and a completed $75 million Roots of American Renewal Campaign. Total reported expenses were $9.5 million for fiscal year 2024–2025, and the endowment has grown from approximately $8 million to over $17 million under recent leadership. ISI does not accept government funding and is governed by an independent board of trustees.

Operationally, ISI runs a community-led, event-driven, and donor-relations go-to-market, with the flagship annual Honors Conference and Gala for Western Civilization serving as primary acquisition and cultivation touchpoints. The organization employs 11–50 staff and sustains a national community of over 90,000 members including students, scholars, professors, alumni, and citizens. Leadership transitioned in June 2026 when President and CEO Johnny Burtka departed and CFO Dr. Matthew Brach was appointed Interim CEO.

Name

Inter Collegiate Review

Legal name

Intercollegiate Studies Institute

Website

https://isi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1953 that delivers conservative intellectual education to U.S. college students through campus chapters, the Honors Program, the Collegiate Network of 90+ student publications, fellowships, and Studio 53 video content, funded primarily by private donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations and Philanthropy: ISI relies primarily on private financial support from individuals through one-time and recurring donations. The organization accepts donor-advised fund contributions, IRA charitable gifts, and planned giving commitments. Donors are cultivated through the 1953 Society giving club with tiered benefits.
2. Educational Programs and Membership: ISI generates revenue through membership fees, with the community numbering over 90,000 members including students, scholars, professors, and citizens. The organization offers tiered giving levels from $1,000 (Founder's Circle) to $50,000+ (Chairman's Circle) annually.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Inter Collegiate Review is a publication operated by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization founded in 1953. The organization provides conservative intellectual formation through in-person educational programs (Honors Program, Weaver Graduate Fellowship, ISI Forums), student journalism support via the Collegiate Network (90+ student publications), flagship periodicals (Modern Age Journal, Intercollegiate Review Newsletter), and digital media produced through its Studio 53 video production facility. ISI also operates 60+ campus chapters across U.S. colleges and universities.

Product overview

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) operates a platform-based educational ecosystem centered on conservative intellectual formation. The core offerings include the Modern Age Journal (quarterly print publication), the Intercollegiate Review Newsletter (weekly curated content), and the Collegiate Network (supporting 90+ independent student publications). These content platforms are supported by in-person programming including the Honors Program (flagship summer fellowship), ISI Forums (campus seminar grants), Campus Chapters (60+ student groups), and the Weaver Graduate Fellowship. ISI's digital media capabilities are anchored by Studio 53, a professional video production facility that produces the Project Cosmos and Daring Greatly video series. The organization recently launched collegiatenetwork.com as a national aggregator for its student journalism network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Modern Age Journal: ISI's flagship print journal publishing conservative voices on politics, the arts, and culture since 1957.
• Collegiate Network
• Intercollegiate Review
• Studio 53
• ISI Honors Program
• Richard M. Weaver Graduate Fellowship

Products and services

• Modern Age Journal ISI's flagship quarterly print and digital journal publishing conservative intellectual voices on politics, the arts, and culture since 1957, founded under Russell Kirk and Henry Regnery. Available via subscription.
• Intercollegiate Review Newsletter Weekly curated newsletter featuring conservative commentary on politics, education, culture, and law, published via Substack and reaching thousands of subscribers.
• Collegiate Network National network supporting over 90 independent college newspapers, magazines, and journals that report on campus issues, with financial and technical assistance to student editors and writers. Includes journalism internship and fellowship programs.
• Honors Program Highly selective weeklong undergraduate fellowship that immerses students in the great works of the Western tradition through intensive seminars and mentorship from distinguished scholars, delivered in person at ISI's Wilmington, DE campus.
• Richard M. Weaver Graduate Fellowship Prestigious fellowship program providing $5,000 to $15,000 awards per academic year to outstanding graduate students committed to teaching in the humanities or social sciences. Up to 15 fellowships are awarded annually.
• ISI Forums On-campus seminar grants providing $500 honoraria for professors to lead small-group discussions on the Western tradition and conservative political texts with 5+ students, with ISI also providing funding for venue, books, and meals.
• Campus Chapters Student-led campus groups at over 60 colleges and universities receiving ISI funding and resources for book groups, debates, and campus lectures.
• Collegiate Network Website National news aggregator website launched by the Collegiate Network to elevate non-woke college newspapers and provide national visibility to student reporting from campuses across the country.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 600 graduate fellows now teaching in colleges and universities across the country
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Hillsdale CollegenotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerHillsdale College President Larry Arnn serves on ISI's Board of Trustees. Multiple ISI alumni serve in leadership positions at Hillsdale, and the institutions share commitments to classical education and conservative thought.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Young America's Foundation: YAF runs conservative student programming, campus activism training, and conferences for undergraduates — directly comparable to ISI's chapter network, Honors Program, and donor-funded fellowship model.
• Turning Point USA: TPUSA is the largest conservative student organization with high school and college chapters, conferences, and donor-driven revenue — a near-direct competitor for the same conservative student audience and donor dollars.
• The Claremont Institute: Claremont runs conservative intellectual formation through publications, student fellowships, and the American Mind magazine — closely aligned with ISI's Modern Age journal, Weaver Fellowships, and Western-tradition curriculum.
• The Fund for American Studies: TFAS offers selective student programs (journalism, economics, political theory) and runs the Robert Novak Fellowship — directly overlapping ISI's Weaver Fellowship, Honors Program, and journalism pipeline mission.
• National Review Institute: National Review Institute is the educational arm of National Review, hosting conservative student programs, journalism initiatives, and the Buckley media fellowship — overlapping ISI's journalism, media, and conservative-intellectual training.

Broad incumbents

• The Heritage Foundation: Heritage is the largest U.S. conservative think tank with broad policy research, donor-funded operations, and a Washington footprint — a broad incumbent competitor for ISI's intellectual and donor mindshare rather than a direct student-program peer.
• American Enterprise Institute: AEI is a large, establishment conservative think tank producing scholarship and policy ideas — comparable as a broader conservative donor- and ideas-ecosystem incumbent, but without ISI's campus-student focus.

Emerging players

• Acton Institute: Acton is a smaller conservative/liberty think tank with educational programming and a publishing arm — an emerging player intersecting ISI's intellectual-formation and Western-tradition publishing space.

Regional players

• Hillsdale College: Hillsdale is a classical-liberal arts college with shared mission overlap (ISI Board trustee Larry Arnn is its president) — comparable mission but as a formal degree-granting institution rather than a student-services nonprofit.

Others

• Eagle Forum: Eagle Forum is a conservative advocacy and education organization with grassroots networks — thematically adjacent to ISI's ideological community but focused on policy advocacy rather than collegiate intellectual formation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLV89ByDhM7RIHoS6cujPTrm5Gr1x22yZl
• Xx.com/isi
• Facebookfacebook.com/isiinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/intercollegiate-studies-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Inter Collegiate Review