November 15, 2018

CHARLESTON, S.C. — At the National Philanthropy Day Luncheon at Gaillard Hall, the SC Lowcountry Association of Fundraising Professionals presented Coastal Expeditions as the 2018 Small Business Philanthropists of the Year.

Nominated by the Avian Conservation Center and supported by Lowcountry Land Trust, Coastal Conservation League and Friends of Coastal SC, this award was given to Coastal Expeditions as recognition of their support of these and other local environmental non-profit groups.

“We are truly humbled by this unexpected recognition by the Charleston community,” Kari Crolley, owner of Coastal Expeditions, said. “We believe in the missions of these organizations and consider their work vital to preserving critical habitats and providing environmental education.  We all benefit from the hard work that they do.”

This was the first time that an award has been given to a small business.

“They give us the chance as a non-profit to take risks, that is hard for non-profits to be able to do,” Daniel Prohaska, Director of Development at Avian Conservation Center said.  “Coastal Expeditions embraces that chance.”

Other individuals and organizations that were recognized at the luncheon were Elliot Demerall, Ragina Scott-Saunders, Bishop-Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community, Nucor Steel and Martha Rivers Ingram.

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The Coastal Expeditions Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 2018 dedicated to conservation and environmental education in coastal South Carolina.  Formed as the philanthropic arm of the outdoor outfitter Coastal Expeditions, Inc., its mission is to connect people with our natural areas and to support other non-profit groups with environmental missions through fundraising, volunteering and in-kind donations.