Education Lottery sets new record for education funding
The Tennessee Education Lottery has set yet another new fiscal year record for funds generated for education, transferring a total of $519,322,000 to initiatives that include college scholarships, grants and after-school programs, a recent announcement said.
According to a news release from the Tennessee Education Lottery, a total of more than two million scholarships and grants have been awarded through the program since ticket sales began Jan. 20, 2004, and the lottery has raised a total of over $7.5 billion.
“This year’s results are incredible news for students and families in Tennessee,” Rebecca Paul, president and CEO of the Lottery, said in a public statement.
The announcement said that the new fiscal year record (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024) for total education funding surpassed the prior year by nearly $4 million.
It added that for the past 10 years, Lottery for Education proceeds have increased an average of 4.5 percent every year, with sales drivers during the past year being popular instant-ticket games and the growth of Cash 3 and Cash 4 games and large Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots.
Since inception, the announcement said, players have won a total of more than $20.5 billion in prizes and Lottery retailers have been paid more than $1.9 billion in retailer commissions.
“It has been an outstanding year thanks to the support and hard work of so many, and we look forward to continuing this momentum for years to come,” Paul said in the announcement.
