The traditional funding model of the Cooperative Extension System has been stretched to its limits by increasing demand for information and programs without concurrent increases in funding by the public sector. As the social, economic, and political environments have evolved and become more complex, extension is often asked to apply the expertise gained in public programming to private situations that may be very specific in their scope and resulting benefits. When the economic benefits of extension efforts accrue only to a small, easily defined population with the ability to pay, extension needs to recover part or all of the costs of providing these services. Iowa State University Extension has pioneered a funding model predicated on a set of principles and strategies designed to consistently recover costs incurred by responding to private good requests, while continuing to provide unrestricted access to high-quality public good programs and services.