By Steve Plunkett
Citing “ongoing financial challenges,” the Coastal Stewards, a nonprofit that started out more than 40 years ago as the volunteer Friends of Gumbo Limbo in Boca Raton, today announced it has dissolved the organization.
The move comes three months after the group on June 12 barred the public from its sea turtle rehabilitation area at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center and shuttered its gift shop there. It released its final turtle patient off Red Reef Park on July 10.
In a news release, the nonprofit said it would give 75% of its assets to the George Snow Scholarship Fund to endow a Coastal Stewards scholarship. The remaining dollars will be split among the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, the Dolphin Research Center in Marathon and the Marine Animal Rescue Society in Miami, it said.
When the Coastal Stewards decided to close the turtle rehab unit, it had $1,000,012 left in its bank accounts, down from $3.8 million the group reported having in assets to the IRS in 2020.
“While this decision is bittersweet, the trustees felt strongly that the best way to honor our history and preserve our mission was through a lasting legacy,” said Shivani Gupta, a corporate wellness speaker and one of the group’s trustees since late 2023. “These gifts to the George Snow Scholarship Fund and several of our valued nonprofit partners will ensure that commitment lives on.”
Merchandise left over from gift store operations will be donated to the Sandoway Nature Center in Delray Beach and Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park Inc. in North Palm Beach, the group said.
The nonprofit shifted from being strictly volunteer-run in 2020, hiring John Holloway as its president and chief executive officer to guide the transition. Holloway’s salary was $122,323 in 2023, according to Internal Revenue Service records.
The closure of Gumbo Limbo’s turtle rehabilitation center did not affect the three “resident” sea turtles housed in outdoor tanks, which remain on display and available for public viewing. Also still open are the city-run turtle nesting and hatchling programs, youth camps and community education, the butterfly garden, boardwalk and observation tower.
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