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Citi Grant to Fund Crazy Horse Memorial Scholarships

Grant part of a program to help Native American groups

CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL (10/28/09) – Affiliates of international financial giant Citigroup on Monday awarded a first-time grant of $25,000 to the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation Scholarship Fund.

“We are proud and honored to be part of helping restore American Indian heritage, whether it’s education for young people, career development or whatever we think we can do to help you secure your future, we want to be a part of it,” Citigroup chief executive officer Vikram Pandit of New York said during ceremonies at Crazy Horse. “You can count on our continued support.”

Citi officials did not specify distribution of the scholarship grant, memorial president and chief executive Ruth Ziolkowski said. The memorial awards scholarship funding it receives to schools in South Dakota helping Native American students. Since first giving $250 in 1978, the Crazy Horse scholarship program has disbursed more than $1.2 million, with $103,500 presented this fall to 20 educational entities, from pre-school through college.

Ruth Christopherson, state director of community relations for Citi, said there was no specific reason for selecting Crazy Horse and the other grant recipients. “They’ve been on our minds and they’ve been doing good things,” she said.

Citibank South Dakota and Citi Foundation have sponsored the grants for years and announced $280,000 to eight nonprofit groups serving Native Americans in the state.

Other grants, from $20,000 to $75,000, went to the American Indian College Fund, First Nations Oweesta Corporation, Four Bands Community Fund, Harvest Initiative Fund, the Lakota Fund, Teach for America-South Dakota and Youth & Family Services.

The money is to encourage Native American business development, help parents and children to understand finances, assist recruiting teachers to remote reservations and for scholarships to select students attending tribal colleges.

Citi operates in more than 140 countries and employs 3,000 in South Dakota. Last year, the company and its foundation gave about $2 million to eligible nonprofits in the state.

About Crazy Horse Memorial

Dedicated on June 3, 1948, the nonprofit Crazy Horse Memorial honors the cultures, traditions and living heritage of North American Indians. Lakota chief Henry Standing Bear and other tribal elders invited sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to create the Black Hills memorial. Now, the Ziolkowski family, the nonprofit memorial foundation and their supporters are fulfilling the dream and the promise by continuing the world’s largest mountain carving, providing educational and cultural programs, funding scholarships, sustaining a growing collection of Native American artifacts, art and crafts, and developing the American Indian University and Medical Training Center. Located on Crazy Horse Memorial Highway, U.S. 16/385 between Custer and Hill City, Crazy Horse Memorial is open every day. Details on the scholarship fund and other programs can be found at www.crazyhorsememorial.org.