HOPE on a Tightrope: Maximizing Lottery Funds to Yield the Best Education Returns

The Georgia Lottery has provided more than $13 billion toward education programs in Georgia. The  program has enabled more than 1.4 million students to pursue higher education through the Helping Outstanding Pupil’s Educationally (HOPE) Program and provided 1.1 million four-year-olds access to early childhood education through Georgia’s Pre-K Program.  Today, the lottery funding model is broken. Expenditures, particularly for the HOPE Program, outpace lottery revenues and are expected to increase while lottery revenue growth is expected to flatten. Georgia must decide how best to invest limited resources in a manner that yields the greatest return for early education and higher education.

Download PDF

 

Related Materials:

HOPE for Whom? For Some it Doesn’t Pay to Play the Georgia Lottery

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Features GBPI Op-ed: Less HOPE for those who contribute larger share of their income to the lottery

Those Paying the Most into HOPE Get Back the Least

Support GBPI Today

The Georgia Budget & Policy Institute is a 501(c)3 organization. We depend on the support of donors like you. Your contribution makes the work that we do possible.

Related Posts

2026 Budget Primer Released

The Georgia Budget Primer is GBPI’s signature annual examination of state revenues and investments. It outlines Georgia’s budget changes, trends and impacts regarding taxes, education, health care, human services and criminal legal systems. This year we are taking special care to describe how federal funding contributes to Georgia’s budget.

Submit your comment on the Georgia Pathways to Coverage Program

Submit public comment on Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program extension by February 20th – just complete this easily fillable form: