Your gift puts a student in the building.
Defense Interns places students at defense contractors and pays for the things that would otherwise decide who gets to take the offer. Every gift goes to that.
Four things a gift buys.
Equipment a student does not have
A laptop and the software to do the work. The first thing that stops a capable student taking a placement is not aptitude - it is that the job needs a machine they cannot buy.
The credential, not just the experience
Exam fees for the industry certifications interns earn on rotation. A rotation ends; a certification does not, and it is what they take to the next employer.
Getting there
Transport to a placement. A student who cannot reach the site cannot take the offer, and that is a solvable problem rather than a reason to place somebody else.
The people who run it
Matching students to employers, the mentor side of every rotation, and the part nobody funds: staying in touch afterwards to find out where they ended up.