In the new issue of Philanthropy, Karl Zinsmeister writes on how private donors are shaping the U.S. military academies.

One might ask: Why do these institutions, which enjoy access to the appropriations process and Uncle Sam’s purse, need private contributions, anyway?
Of course a similar question could be posed about state colleges, which enjoy public funding, yet also rely on lots of private donations. The University of Virginia, for instance, now receives more revenue from private gift income than from Virginia appropriations. Donors give to the academies for the same reasons they give to state universities: sometimes out of personal loyalty, sometimes to support training they consider valuable to the nation.