Mr Schulze lives in Wanaka for part of every year and has personally donated $10,000 to Snow Sports New Zealand's Patrons and Friends programme.
The Snow Sports New Zealand Patrons and Friends programme was set up in June and is raising money to build a sustainable capital base for the organisation.
The interest and income will be invested and used to support aspiring snow-sports athletes and develop programmes across all disciplines.
"A $10,000 donation represents 1% of the $1 million goal. I'd like my donation to serve as a challenge to the New Zealand snow-sports community to get behind this initiative and help Snow Sports New Zealand reach their goal by 2014," Mr Schulze said in a media release this week.
Snow Sports New Zealand chief executive Ross Palmer thanked Mr Schulze yesterday.
"Dick has been a great friend to the New Zealand snow sports community for many years. his donation represents just one aspect of his commitment," Mr Palmer said.
New Zealand Snowboard Union Sport Committee chairman Robett Hollis described Mr Schulze as a "legend". "This is an awesome gesture on his part."
Mr Schulze is an intellectual property lawyer and lives most of the year at Lake Tahoe, California.
He was first profiled by the Otago Daily Times in 2008 when he was the oldest competitor in the New Zealand Snowboarding Open at the Snow Park.
He did not qualify for the finals but had a lot of fun, saying at the time he attracted more attention for his seniority than for his riding skills.
He has gone on to compete in a wide range of international events and is one of the most senior, regular competitors in Burton Global Open Series and USA Snowboarding Association events.
Mr Schulze took up snowboarding and marathon running about 12 years ago and has provided a base for New Zealand's competitive snowboarders in the United States.
