The Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) Board of Directors has declared a record-high dividend of $7.00 per share to be issued in December, an increase of $2.00 more than the 2018 shareholder dividend. The average BSNC shareholder who owns 100 shares of stock will receive $700. This dividend distribution will be paid through the BSNC Beringia Settlement Trust on a tax-free basis. The total 2019 distribution will be approximately $4.4 million to BSNC’s shareholders of record. Since 1972, BSNC has distributed $27.9 million in regular dividends.
There are many benefits that come with being a BSNC shareholder or descendant, including eligibility to receive scholarships from the Bering Straits Foundation and hire preference for qualified shareholders, descendants and shareholder spouses. In addition to these benefits, BSNC provides Shareholder Bereavement Assistance in the amount $2,500 to help defray the cost of funeral expenses for an original BSNC shareholder, a lineal descendent of an original BSNC shareholder, or the spouse of a living original BSNC shareholder.
“This is a record high dividend and a 40 percent increase from BSNC’s 2018 distribution,” said BSNC Board Chairman Henry Ivanoff. “BSNC is more than pleased to fulfill its pledge to return tangible benefits to its shareholders.”