Nonpublic schools are a surprisingly salient channel for philanthropy in elementary and secondary education. As a result of philanthropy in nonpublic schools, the nation's total collectivity of schools is probably more efficient fiscally, more effective educationally, and more humane in its impact on students and parents than an exclusively public arrangement would be. There is obvious danger, however, that the nonpublic schools and the philanthropy they represent will experience severe attrition in the future. Because of rapid cost increases in education, nonpublic schools are predicted to become more exclusively nonsectarian, less subsidized, and increasingly limited to the patronage of an economic elite, unless some shift occurs in the framework of public policy. Strategies discussed for changing the framework of school finance include (1) public aid, (2) a liberal interpretation of "charitable donations," (3) tax credits or deductions for fees, (4) educational vouchers, (5) encouragement of public "alternative" schools, and (6) levying all future taxation increases for public schools exclusively on public school patrons. (Author/MLF)