DENVER, March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Indian College Fund received a $50,000 grant from the Travelers Foundation, the charitable arm of The Travelers Companies, Inc. The gift will continue the foundation's scholarship program for the 2012-13 academic year, which supports six tribal and five mainstream American Indian college students with $4,000 scholarships. Students must earn a 3.0 grade point average and major in fields related to business, accounting, computer science, actuarial science, or math. Scholarship recipients will be selected from locations near Travelers Companies' offices.

"Travelers is committed to breaking down barriers to success and ensuring all young people have ample opportunities," said Deb Morris, Program Officer of the Travelers Foundation. "We understand that today's students are tomorrow's workforce, and are dedicated to working with organizations like the American Indian College Fund to provide greater access to higher education."

"We are grateful for the continued support of the Travelers Foundation," said Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund. "For 16 years, the foundation has helped provide hope for Native students who might not otherwise be able to afford to attend college, and has assisted them with reaching their educational and career goals."

Taylar Zarfos (Three Affiliated Tribes), a third-year business marketing major at The University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management who is interning with Travelers this semester said, "This scholarship helped tremendously with tuition costs and helped me to be able to focus more of my time to academics and building the best resume I could to put in for my Carlson application. Gaining admission into Carlson has been a dream come true for me and I look forward to all the opportunities it will open for me in the future. I know I owe a large part of my success to Travelers and the financial support they have given me over the last year."

About the Travelers Foundation

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Travelers has more than 30,000 employees and generated revenues of approximately $25 billion in 2010. The company provides support for charitable organizations in the community through the Travelers Foundation and with corporate funding. The company's community giving is focused on education, community development and the arts. Travelers employees are consistently active in community initiatives and perform thousands of hours in volunteer time each year.

About the American Indian College Fund

With its credo "Educating the Mind and Spirit," the American Indian College Fund is the nation's largest private provider of scholarships for American Indian students, providing an average of 6,000 scholarships annually for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education and support to the nation's 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities.


Source: American Indian College Fund