There are Many in Need Just Beyond Our Gates
Within just a few miles of Kiawah and Seabrook there are tens of thousands of people living lives that are so close to us in proximity, but in such stark contrast to ours in reality.
Please join the Beyond Our Gates Foundation in making an impact – together, we can change lives and communities.
A Message From Our Founders
A Message From Our Founders
Dear Friends & Neighbors
We’ve been fortunate to be part of the Kiawah/Seabrook community for over 25 years and currently live in Cassique. Like many of you, the island is our family’s “happy place” where we’ve cherished so many of life’s special moments. But the inherent dichotomy that exists between the beauty and wealth of our two islands and the increasingly daunting circumstances faced by thousands of people living just beyond our gates has become impossible to ignore.
In the past few years, we’ve spent significant time in the low-income communities across the Charleston Sea Islands raising our awareness of the widespread poverty and severe deficit of essential resources and services that exist in these areas. We also commissioned The Jospeh P. Riley Center for Livable Communities at The College of Charleston to conduct a community needs assessment study that reinforced the extreme challenges that are faced by so many living within just a few miles of us.
Moved by all we had seen and experienced, we formed the Beyond Our Gates Foundation of Kiawah & Seabrook, which is structured as a public 501(c)(3) endowment-based, grant-making community foundation. The mission of Beyond Our Gates is to improve the lives of our less-fortunate neighbors in the five nearby Charleston Sea Islands by investing in them, connecting them to urgently needed resources, and empowering them to build a future filled with hope and opportunity.
We’ve made a personal, seven-figure commitment to the foundation, and in the Fall of 2023 awarded an inaugural series of $300,000 in grants to 16 amazing non-profit organizations serving critical needs in our adjacent communities. We expect to award the second round of grants totaling $500,000 in the Fall of 2024. Our vision is that Beyond Our Gates will evolve into a long-term vehicle to enable the generous residents and institutions of Kiawah and Seabrook to recognize and support those who are living lives that are so close to us In proximity, but in stark contrast to ours in reality.
It’s been incredibly rewarding to see the tangible impacts that Beyond Our Gates’ initial series of grants is already having on these often-forgotten communities that have existed for so long right beside us as “islands of poverty amidst a sea of prosperity”. We invite you, our friends and neighbors on Kiawah and Seabrook, to join us in this important mission.
With hope and gratitude,
– Brian and Karen McDonagh
100,000 total focus area population
20% living in poverty
50% existing below subsistence
<35% Title 1 school students testing at proficiency level
1/3 of residents can no longer afford to stay in their community
10,000+ people without health insurance
5,000+ children living in poverty – larger than the total population of Kiawah and Seabrook combined
10% of residents struggle with daily food insecurity
*Data from The College of Charleston’s Joseph P. Riley Center for Livable Communities and other sources
Mission Statement
Improving the lives of our less-fortunate neighbors in the nearby Charleston Sea Islands by investing in them, connecting them to urgently needed resources, and empowering them to build a future filled with hope and opportunity.
Grant Focus Areas
Education
Housing
Poverty & Crisis Services
Child Services
Family Services
Healthcare
Mental Health
Food Insecurity
Recreation
Ways to Help
One-Time Gifts
Recurring Gifts
Major Gifts of $10,000 to $1,000,000+
Cash
Appreciated Securities
IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)
Donor Advised Funds (DAFs)
Wills, Trusts and/or Estate Gifts
For Major Gifts, please contact us here.
Volunteer Assistance
How to
Contact Us
Johns Island, SC 29455
(843) 640-3000