(Raleigh, N.C.) – State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, paid tribute to Saint Augustine’s University when he visited campus Wednesday, Feb. 1, to return money that was directed into safekeeping at the Department of State Treasurer (DST).
During a review of data in the Unclaimed Property Division (UPD), commonly called NCCash.com, DST staff identified $23,018 belonging to the university. The private school was founded in 1867 amid a wave of growth in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) for freed slaves following the Emancipation Proclamation. It is one of two HBCUs affiliated with the Episcopal Church and has graduated more than one-third of all black Episcopalian priests.
During his visit Treasurer Folwell presented a check to Gwen Kea, Saint Augustine’s vice president of finance and administration, and Dr. Carolyn Carter, vice president of institutional advancement. He said Saint Augustine’s University continues to benefit from a rich legacy passed down to administration, faculty, staff and students.
“The Falcon community inherited a can-do spirit of overcoming the odds that was forged during a period of history that posed daunting challenges. Saint Augustine’s Chapel, the oldest building on campus, embodies that heritage. It was constructed from stone that students carved from surrounding rock quarries in 1895. As we begin the celebration of Black History Month today, I am honored to return this money and help to put another brick in the university’s financial wall,” Treasurer Folwell said.
“Saint Augustine’s has a well-deserved national reputation in the sports arena for producing track champions and Olympic gold medal winners. But it has attained global renown for putting its students on a different track, one in which they are academically and socially equipped for the challenges ahead in their career pursuits, and spiritually prepared to run the good race,” Treasurer Folwell said.
Among its many successes, Saint Augustine’s established the first school of nursing in North Carolina for African American students. It was the first HBCU to own an on-campus commercial radio station and television station.
“The money will be used to help our students, and for some infrastructure and programs. Programs are always the most important piece,” Kea said. She said reclaiming the money was a snap.
“It was so easy to go in and process. We uploaded the forms, and the folks who contacted me back were extremely helpful,” Kea said, offering a bit of advice to others. “I would just say don’t let that money lay there. It belongs to you.”
NCCash.com is the repository for 17.7 million properties valued at $1.02 billion under DST’s custody. The money is awaiting return to the rightful owners after being lost, misdirected or overlooked. More than 19 million owners are associated with the 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/.
State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, met with Saint Augustine’s University administrators and students to discuss NCCash.com, answer questions and present a $23,018 check for missing money.