Yesterday, members of the South Carolina Centers of Economic Excellence (CoEE) Review Board delivered a holiday present to the General Assembly and the people of South Carolina: According to the latest program totals, the CoEE Program has resulted in $363 million in non-state investment into the South Carolina economy and created 4,717 new jobs.
The money that has been invested in the state is more than double the $180 million in S.C. Education Lottery proceeds that the General Assembly appropriated for the program between FY2003 and FY2008. (No additional funds have been appropriated since FY2008.) The $363 million total is actual dollars that have been received and invested in the South Carolina economy, and it represents a 2-to-1 return on investment for the state.
The $363 million derives from a variety of sources including corporations, foundations, non-profits, federal agencies and private individuals. Investment from corporations and foundations accounts for more than two-thirds of the total, with individual corporate investments of more than $500,000 totaling more than $51 million. In addition to the $363 million already received, in excess of a half billion dollars in additional corporate investment and federal grants has been committed to South Carolina because of the CoEE Program but not yet received. Rest at BobbyHarrell.com