PRSF Receives Grant from Coastal Community Foundation’s Beaufort Fund
December 18, 2024
The Port Royal Sound Foundation (PRSF) has been awarded operating funds through the Coastal Community Foundation’s (CCF) Beaufort Fund. Coastal Community Foundation works to create communities rich in equity, opportunity, and well-being by uniting people and investing resources so that all community members have a pathway to achieve their goals. Pillars of their vision include education and coastal resilience.
PRSF is proud to partner with CCF to work towards a shared goal of a healthy community. 2024 was a fantastic year filled with successes in research about the Port Royal Sound. Our first annual Inshore Slam Fishing Tournament encouraged people to spend time in our amazing natural environment, and provided important fisheries data to SCDNR to better understand the health of the Port Royal Sound. PRSF’s other research initiatives saw significant growth as well, sparked by our annual research symposium in March 2024, which convened researchers and experts in the region to determine what data needs to be collected to best monitor the health of the Port Royal Sound. This input informed the creation of a data portal to house the most vital information on our local environment, to serve as a tool for stakeholders in the region to make the best decisions for the health of our communities.
PRSF also hosted its first annual Photography Contest in 2024, which had over 170 photo submissions and engaged the public in voting for their favorite flora, fauna, landscape, and cultural snapshots celebrating the Port Royal Sound. We also continued with a vast array of educational programs that reach thousands of people a year, including over 5,000 students on field trips, 100 kids in summer camp, and hundreds more participating in public STEAM programming.
Operating funds play a major part in providing PRSF the ability to meet community needs in a flexible, efficient way with high-quality educational programs and research initiatives, all working towards the health of the Port Royal Sound and our community. PRSF is grateful for CCF’s support in achieving our mission to conserve the Port Royal Sound for the environmental, cultural, and economic well-being of our area.