ARLINGTON, Texas – The Scholarship Management and Accounting Reports for Tenpins (SMART) Corporation Board of Directors announced it will make an income earnings distribution of $1 million to providers’ funds.
The $1 million distribution is for 2016 earnings. The SMART Board previously determined income distributions would take place each May.
Combined with the distribution of expired funds in 2016, the total distributed to providers within the past year is $3,913,923.
“We have been able to make significant distributions to providers over the past year, which will provide more opportunities for youth bowlers to earn scholarships,” SMART Corporation Board Chairman Wally Hall said. “The distribution from 2016 earnings is more than double what we have been able to provide the last few years, while we continue to maintain our conservative investment strategy.”
The SMART Board made a distribution of $1,881,597 from expired recipients in late 2016 and had a distribution of $1,032,326 from expired provider accounts. Under its terms and conditions, SMART can suspend or terminate a user’s account if a provider account becomes inactive, when a deposit or a funded list is not entered into the account during any five-year period. Activity does not include the return of expired funds from a recipient or earnings allocated to a provider from SMART.
The SMART Board places the largest portion of earned scholarships in safe securities with remaining assets invested in a diversified portfolio expected to yield larger returns. The majority of investment income is distributed to participating organizations and providers, with a small portion used to cover administrative costs and investment fees.
Started by the United States Bowling Congress in 1994, the SMART program was a way to offer a centralized location to manage bowling scholarship funds, as well as provide USBC members with a resource for inquiries about bowling scholarships.
In 2010, the SMART Bowling Scholarship Funding Corporation was created as an independent entity dedicated to the management, protection and promotion of the SMART scholarship funds with USBC staff overseeing the day-to-day operation of the program.
Visit BOWL.com/SMART to learn more about the SMART program.