“We will be good stewards of this wonderful gift,” said Antonia M. Richburg, Ph.D, President and CEO of United Way of Forsyth County.
Monday afternoon, Richburg joined Treasurer Brad Briner at the North Carolina State Fair, where he presented her with a check for over $20,000. This money was discovered in the state’s Unclaimed Property fund and rightfully belongs to the organization.
“Working families are struggling more than ever to make ends meet. United Way represents hope for those families, seniors and veterans and hope for our entire community,” said Richburg.
United Way’s mission is to bring the community and its resources together to solve problems that no one organization can address alone. As a convener, collaborator and catalyst for change, United Way creates pathways that allow families—including many veterans and seniors — to become stable, build assets, access opportunities and ultimately break the cycle of generational poverty. United Way remains focused on responsible stewardship, meaningful partnerships and strengthening our community for the future.
“Returning funds to outstanding community organizations like United Way, is one of the highlights of my job,” said Briner. “My team watches over the nearly $1.7 billion cash and property, as we work to unite it with its rightful owner. I am always excited to see how groups not expecting these dollars turn them around and do so much good for the state.”
The N.C. Cash team has a booth in the Kerr Scott Building during the N.C. State Fair. You can come check to see if you have unclaimed property while you are enjoying the fair, or you can always check anytime at NCCash.gov.
Under state law, NCCash.gov is currently safeguarding over a billion dollars in funds that are escheated, or turned over, to DST. The money is awaiting return to the rightful owners after being lost, misdirected or overlooked. It represents almost 27 million properties statewide, and more than 30 million owners are associated with those properties.
Unclaimed assets consist 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 that they are due money. People might change residence and forget 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.