The Civil Rights Heritage Center was conceived by students at Indiana University South Bend who participated in the Freedom Summer 2000 study tour of the Civil Rights Movement in the South during May, 2000. The Center was initially funded for a nine-month planning phase by grants from the African American Community Fund, the Indiana Humanities Council, and the Bowsher-Booher Foundation and still seeks full permanent funding, but has significant in-kind support from the university and pursues grant support for all its programs. In the tradition of the Civil Rights Movement, which provides its inspiration, the Center relies upon student volunteer leadership.