2009 Financial Update

Prior to last year, the Richard (Yogi) Crowe Memorial Scholarship Fund enjoyed several years of healthy gains in the value of its investments causing the Scholarship Fund to grow beyond the Board's expectations. That growth disappeared during the economic downturn in late 2008. During 2009, the Scholarship Fund experienced slow but steady increases in values of its investments and hopes to see that trend continue in the coming year.

The Board of Directors is grateful to the many individuals who continued to support the Scholarship Fund through generous contributions during this difficult economic time. The Board extends a special thanks to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) - Harrah's Scholarship for an award of $25,000 to the Richard (Yogi) Crowe Memorial Scholarship Fund. Since its inception in 1997, the EBCI - Harrah's Scholarship has made several large awards to our Scholarship Fund. This year's award of $25,000 was especially important during a year of financial crisis. With the continued support of individuals and organizations such as the EBCI - Harrah's Scholarship, the Yogi Crowe Memorial Scholarship Fund will be able to continue providing financial support to Cherokee students pursuing post-graduate degrees.

Our 2009 financial reports will not be available until late February or early March. If you would like a copy of these reports, please write to the Scholarship Fund at P. O. Box 892, Cherokee, NC 28719 or email