Two of our most frequently asked questions we get at the lottery are how much money has the lottery raised for education and where does the money go. Since inception, the North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) has raised over $1.25 billion for the state. In Fiscal Year 2008-2009, the NCEL transferred over $410 million to the State Education Lottery Fund.
The Lottery Act, which was written by the State Legislature, designates that the State Education Lottery Fund be used for these beneficiary programs: More at Four; class size reduction; school construction; and need-based college scholarships. The Department of Public Instruction manages the distribution of the funds for all the beneficiary programs except the college scholarships, which is handled by the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority.
To help answer the questions about where the money goes, the NCEL has produced a beneficiary brochure that breaks down how much each county has received by program. Citizens may either access the brochure on the NCEL website at: http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/uploads/docs/Beneficiary_Brochure_fy2009.pdf or they may call the NCEL player hotline at 1-877-962-7529 to request that a brochure be mailed to them.
Everyone’s mission here at the lottery is to maximize sales and raise as much money as possible for the designated education programs. We are thrilled that in just three years the lottery proceeds have funded over 6,200 teachers; served nearly 54,000 four year olds in More at Four; provided approximately 60,000 need-based college scholarships; and generated over $432 million for school construction and school renovation projects.