Those homeowners received an average grant of $50,715, according to the most recent statistics from the program.

The average grant for individuals was $5,500; for organizations $20,000.

The average need-based grant for the 2011-2012 academic year was more than $37,400.

In Illinois, the average grant for such programs has lost from 45 to 50 percent of its buying power over the last decade.

At Columbia, the average grant has now reached $14,000, and the overall aid budget for the college is approaching $17.5 million.

Nearly half the students who attend Harvard receive scholarships, with the average grant about $17,200, university officials said.

The average monthly grant for a single person is $217 and $458 for a family with two children.

The number has since tumbled: last year, 226 companies gave their top executives more than the average grant.

Excluding that exchange, he said, brings the average annual grant to executives at the company to 27.7 percent over the period.

The average grant to executives in its sector was 11.3 percent.