entirely voluntary

I've been working on a project to provide after school homework help for students between around 8/10 and 18 in a diverse and interesting neighborhood in Seattle. I've also been serving lattes to the students from the prestigious, private high school across the street while I'm at work. And these encounters make me wonder about education and money - Claire, you and I have spoken about socially responsible business, businesses that can include people and the planet into their considerations of the bottom line(s), and I begin to wonder how that works with schools.

On one end of the spectrum, you have folks like me and my colleagues in this endeavor, which is entirely voluntary, seeking to provide a community service. And even if we were to get a grant to help fund our efforts, I would be wary of paying any of our "tutors" or facilitators. One of the first rules of our center is that everyone - students and adults - has to want to be there. Does money change endeavors like this? In some ways this seems like an overly simple question, but I ask it to bring out discussion of the complexities I know are involved.

We didn't have private high schools that weren't affiliated with religious organizations in my hometown, so I don't know much about how they work. From what I understand, the tuition is extremely high for many of these exclusive schools. Where does that money go? Does it all go back into the school - does it go to making sure all the teachers are well compensated for their tireless efforts - does it go to making opportunities available for the students? Or, is someone making money from these undertakings? And throughout, how does money change the culture of a school like this?