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Universities are probably the main mechanism we have for economic mobility in the US. There’s almost no where else in the US where the government will give a kid from a poor family thousands of dollars to invest in their long-term well being (and that kid will wind up repaying in taxes their education anyways.)

I don't disagree with what you've said, but your Note is wrong.

PG in the article specifically uses a University donation as an example.

But it says that universities are the exception. It's more of a counterexample.

It really depends on the university. Many do not have substantial endowments. Many educate a disproportionately high number of first generation or low income students.

Many universities are non-profits.

Schools like Harvard and Stanford give away free tuition to students whose families make less than 120,000. This is directly from their endowments.