How Berea College does it
History: Founded in 1855 by ardent Christian abolitionists, the first interracial and coeducational college in the South. Its motto: "God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth." Since 1892, has not charged tuition.How does it do that? In 1920, the board of trustees voted to salt away gifts, rather than spending them. That "seed corn," as college officials like to call it, has grown into a $1 billion endowment. It earns about 75 percent of the cost of keeping the 1,500 students on campus.
And the rest? Some comes from government funds. But a large percentage comes from annual giving by people who have heard the Berea story and responded with their checkbooks. Expenses are kept down through students doubling as the campus workforce.
How do you get in? Berea is pledged to serve academically promising young people from the impoverished Appalachia region. Its student body comes from the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.
How does it measure success? When its alumni enjoy the financial success that makes their children ineligible to go to Berea because family income is over the limit.
Original Source : http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-berea-college-080721-ht,0,5568400.story
