The purpose of this paper, one of three related documents, is to present hypotheses about the causes for the success of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. The fund's success is demonstrated by the following achievements, all discussed indepth: diversity among the fund's applicants and grantees, multidimensional projects, effects beyond the host institution, and continuation and institutionalization after the Fund's support ended. The paper's final section discusses hypotheses about the fund's overall success as a federal agency. (Author/LD)