(Asheville, N.C.) – The YMI Cultural Center boasts exhibitions of art and artifacts from Asheville to Africa. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, provided the historic organization with an old check that won’t be part of the display collection, but will help to preserve African American heritage in Buncombe County.
During a recent review of data in its system, the Department of State Treasurer’s (DST) Unclaimed Property Division (UPD), commonly called NCCash.com, identified $802.88 belonging to the cultural center. Treasurer Folwell was in Asheville on Monday, Jan. 16, and visited the cultural center to return the money.
“The YMI Cultural Center is an important hub of the community where culture, social activity and history meet. This has been an important institution in helping to nurture business opportunities and networks to lift people out of poverty through workforce development and economic empowerment,” Treasurer Folwell said. “I am excited to be able to reunite the staff, board and community with money that had gotten sidetracked into state safekeeping in our office.”
The YMI Cultural Center is not just some Asheville landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a living legacy its founders bequeathed to Buncombe County’s African American community. Aside from its other programs and initiatives, the cultural center offers mental and physical health and youth advancement. Its mission of advocacy, leadership development and cultural preservation dates back more than a century to its founding in 1892.
“We are very happy to receive funds that were due to the YMI Cultural Center. This funding will go to support the YMI in the midst of our Capital Campaign as we perform much-needed renovations to our 130-year-old building,” said YMI Executive Director Dewana Little. “We are hopeful that the community will continue to support our fundraising efforts so that we are able to reach our goal of $6.4 million.”
NCCash.com is the repository for 17.7 million properties valued at $1.02 billion. It is maintained under DST’s custody awaiting return to the rightful owners after being lost, misdirected or overlooked. More than 19 million owners are associated with those properties being safeguarded by DST.
UPD paid 178,857 claims amounting to more than $105 million during the 2022 fiscal year that ended June 30. Both numbers were historical records. The returns are on pace to set another record this fiscal year. Through Nov. 30, UPD has paid 74,979 claims totaling over $44 million from NCCash. Part of that total has been disbursed through the NCCash Match program, a no-hassle, expedited system that eliminated paperwork processing. As of Nov. 30, DST paid 44,200 Cash Match claims totaling about $12.6 million.
Under state law, UPD receives and safeguards funds that are escheated, or turned over, to DST. The unclaimed property consists of bank accounts, wages, utility deposits, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, bonds and contents of safe deposit boxes that have been abandoned.
Unclaimed property can result from a person or entity forgetting they are due money, or from a move of location and forgetting to provide a new address. It also could result from a typing error in a house number or zip code in an address, a name change, or data loss from a business converting its computer system. As society becomes more mobile and steadily moves to electronic transactions, the risk of having unclaimed property has increased.
More information, including how to find out if you are owed money, can be found at https://www.nccash.com/.
