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A similar path is at work elsewhere, such as the nonprofit community of East Hampton, N. H., which will start a program with its sister nonprofit, The Hampton Roads Foundation, that will provide students with financial aid from private donors.

The new initiatives could prove valuable to communities where large swaths of the population lack access to college financial aid, said Steve Sisson, president and CEO of the Association for College Affordability and Productivity, a research organization in Washington.

"If you have fewer people with the proper financial need, you're likely to see, particularly if you're in Appalachia and are in rural areas of the nation," Sisson said.

In the case of the East Hampton program, one of the first tasks of the state Department of Community Development will be to identify the private universities, colleges and universities with which to help pay for college, said state Comptroller Joseph McDonald.