Reflections on 2014
2014
was a good year for the
Kiawah Conservancy, your
hometown land trust. We
made significant progress for the benefit of the Kiawah
community in several key areas.
Property acquisition continues to be a focus for
the Conservancy. We added two donated properties
to those we hold and manage. Additionally, we
completed lengthy negotiations for three large
parcels with Kiawah Partners and the Kiawah Island
Community Association. Each of our 28 properties
represents critical habitat and taken in aggregate they
play even larger than the 345 acres they represent.
Habitat-friendly landscaping on privately-held
property provides significant cover and sustenance
for wildlife. An island wide re-evaluation for the
Conservancy’s Naturally Kiawah Habitat Recognition
Program conducted during 2014 indicates 62 percent
of property owners qualify for mailbox emblems
recognizing habitat friendly landscape. This is up from
50 percent over a two-year period.
Our Naturally Kiawah Demonstration Garden in
Night Heron Park grew with the addition of a shade
garden. Made possible by a grant from the Town
of Kiawah Island (TOKI), and in cooperation with
the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, this lovely area is a
living example of habitat-friendly plants that will
create all-important understory, while providing food
and shelter for a multitude of songbirds and small
mammals. This grant also supported garden-related
programming designed to assist property owners in
making landscaping choices that support our abundant
wildlife.
Informing property owners and stakeholders as
to how they can play an effective role in maintaining
and enhancing Kiawah’s unique balance of nature and
development is key to our mission. Our flagship publication, Naturally Kiawah, continues to garner praise,
winning prestigious Gold and Silver Communicator
Awards. The popular winter-spring edition, 101 Things
We Love about Kiawah and its summer-fall follow up
Kiawah, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow were mailed
to all property owners. Volume 2 of our guest edition
is being made available to island visitors. We’ve added
children’s pages to all these.
Conservation Matters, our monthly free educational
offering, continued to gain support from enthusiastic
audiences. Programs ranging from lectures given by
impressive professionals and passionate residents
to hands-on field events have proven effective in
engaging property owners.
The Conservancy Environmental Science
Committee’s report on its year long review of the
1975 Kiawah Environmental Inventory culminated
in a symposium, Kiawah, Celebrating 40 Years of
Designing with Nature. The symposium was so well
received that we will present another topic in 2015.
Research drives our decisions regarding land
acquisition and preservation. We continue to partner
with TOKI on a variety of wildlife research projects,
including the long-term fall bird banding and
nationally recognized bo bcat study.
The decision to shake up our fundraising efforts
paid off. We hosted a single new event, the Legacy Ball,
which replaced both our long-running Bobcat Ball
and the Fall Science Fellowship Gathering. Because we
qualify for few grants, we rely heavily on support from
property owners and businesses with local interests.
Both responded well to this change.
Our financial story is a good one. Total revenues were
up over the previous year reflecting property donations
and a healthy 25 percent increase in contributions.
Expenses were down due to economies realized from
an office reorganization and upfront funding of the
Naturally Kiawah Demonstration Garden the previous
year. Our balance sheet is stronger and we continue
to reduce our liability exposure as we pay down debt
incurred with property purchases in 2006. Program
or mission based expenditures remain at a robust 76
percent of the total.
We are proud to be your partner in preserving our
beautiful island and grateful for your support in this
important work.
Sue Corcoran, Chairman 2014
Kiawah Conservancy Board of Trustees
3