Small Towns, Big Success

Brooklyn, Iowa

The town of Brooklyn, nestled in rolling hills amid corn and soybean fields, is in many ways typical of America's rural heartland. From the cluster of storefronts that make up its main street, to the farms that dot the landscape, to the affable neighborliness of people who occasionally leave doors unlocked, this central Iowa community embodies a quiet and unassuming simplicity.

But this is also a community that has done something out of the ordinary: Through private local contributions, the residents have amassed a scholarship foundation with a big-city-sized endowment of more than $600,000. In the process, the local school district has nearly doubled its college-going...