In an act that underscores the unexpected ways institutions can recover lost funds, North Carolina's Treasurer Brad Briner handed over a sizable sum to Shaw University. The school received a check for $59,790 courtesy of the state's NC Cash Program, which aims to return unclaimed property to its rightful owners. Shaw University found itself on the beneficiary end of this program thanks to the keen-eyed staff who identified assets belonging to the institution that had fallen through the cracks.
During a presentation at the university, Briner, making good on his responsibility, returned what had been lost, now found. Shaw University President Dr. Paulette Dillard accepted the check on behalf of the institution on Friday. Having worked with the Department of State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division, Shaw's leaders were instrumental in retrieving vendor checks, credit balances, and other business-related surpluses that had gone unclaimed.
The boon to Shaw University comes from a common yet often overlooked source of institutional funding – escheated funds. These are assets that have become separated from their owners, typically due to outdated or missing contact information, resulting in bank accounts, insurance policy proceeds, and other financial properties being turned over to the state for safekeeping. The NC Cash Program serves as a conduit for returning these orphaned funds back into the cycle of commerce and education.
According to a statement obtained by the Department of State Treasurer, "Unclaimed Property consists of bank accounts, wages, utility deposits, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, bonds, and contents of safe deposit boxes that typically have been abandoned for one to five years." In the landscape of financial misplacement, Shaw University's recent reclaim can be seen as a beacon for other organizations to explore such avenues for potential gains.
As part of the program, funds are held until claimed, without knowing the rightful owner, and businesses are required by law to turn these funds over to the Department of State Treasurer after a period of abandonment.
