This paper discusses a number of topics related to the educational role and financial support of nonpublic elementary and secondary schools in the United States, with emphasis on the importance of private philanthropy in providing financial support for such schools. Section 1 briefly examines the scope of nonpublic elementary and secondary education in the U.S., both in terms of the number of such schools and their enrollment and in terms of their financial resources and operating costs. Section 2 discusses the public purposes and benefits of nonpublic schools. Section 3 examines the relationship of private philanthropy to nonpublic schools. Section 4 presents comparative financial analyses of the expenditures and income for a group of church-related schools affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and for a group of independent private schools. (Author/JG)