Mission and Purpose
Established in 2021, the Port Royal Community Charitable Fund (PRCCF) has a three-pronged mission:
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To encourage and support the charitable, caring interests of Port Royal residents,
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To enhance the sense of community among Port Royal residents by having our own charitable fund, and
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To leverage resources in order to have a larger impact in the greater community.
The PRCCF purpose is to provide grants to benefit our neighbors in Beaufort, Hampton, Jasper, and Colleton counties; to respond to people in need; and to provide resources to help improve the lives of people in the Lowcountry.​
Together Helping Others
Port Royal residents volunteer, donate, and advocate for area nonprofits working on issues that are close to their hearts. What happens when these generous residents and local businesses link their financial resources to support local needs?
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That’s the genesis of the Port Royal Community Charitable Fund. Through fundraising activities that engage the Port Royal community and business partners, donations consistent with the caring spirit of our neighbors provide grants to nonprofits that help meet area needs.
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Grant recipients receive 97% of all contributions.
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Read more about us in this brochure. Additional information is contained in this flyer.
PRCCF Board
The Fund is administered through a volunteer committee of landowners and/or partners of landowners with administrative support from the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry (CFL).
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Guiding the PRCCF for 2025-26 are:
Front Row (Left to Right):
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Ed Weinlein
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Beth D'Agostino
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Lou Befano (Chair)
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Renee Roth
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Jan Meyer
Back Row:​
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Andrew Hertneky (former Board member)
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Scott King
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Liz Niehaus (Treasurer)
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Robert Hangacsi (Secretary)
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Steven Shapiro
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Linda Tobeson (Absent from Picture)​​​
Lou Befano, Board Chair
Lou was a founding member of PRCCF, serving as Treasurer, Grants Committee Chair and Board Chair. Lou also volunteers time locally to support the Bargain Box, the Port Royal Community Relations Committee and the Arts Center. His previous volunteer work included being founding members of the KGV Recreation Council (Treasurer), National IAQC (Charter Committee Chair), various roles in his local churches and United Way. Prior to retiring to Hilton Head with his wife Jeanne, he held several management and engineering positions in Northrop Grumman, including 22 years in information Technology and Systems Engineering Management. He and his wife have 3 children and 7 grandchildren and have lived full time on HH since 2017.
Liz Neihaus, Treasurer
Liz is a former wealth advisor at Truepoint Wealth Counsel in Cincinnati. She and her husband, Jim, moved to Port Royal Plantation in 2024 after their retirements. She has been on several boards in Cincinnati focusing on education and wanted to get involved in her community upon relocating to Hilton Head Island. She is also the treasurer for PRCCF and a member of the Port Royal Social Committee. In her spare time, she likes to golf, walk, ride bikes and spend time with her children and grandchildren in Cincinnati.
Renee Roth
Renee and her husband Eli have been owners since 2006 and full-time since 2015. Renee has served on committees at Congregation Beth Yam and in Port Royal she chaired Casual Wednesday and the Social Committee and served on the Port Royal Board of Directors for 3 years. Before moving to Hilton Head, Renee taught school, served on the local school board and volunteered on many nonprofit boards/committees in Cincinnati. She founded PRCCF and served as Chair of the Board for 4 years.
Renee and Eli have two sons and daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren. Renee enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, traveling and theater.
Robert and his wife Carol have been Port Royal landowners since 2002. Robert retired in 2022 after a long and varied career at Citibank. He has previously volunteered for fundraising and charity-related activities for their daughter’s school and the United Way. Now serving as the PRCCF Secretary, he is putting his organizational and creative skills to work to help improve the lives of our neighbors.
Robert Hangacsi, Secretary
Ed and his wife Sharon have lived in Port Royal for nearly 20years. They relocated to PR from Atlanta after retiring from his Real Estate Development career building golf course communities throughout the SE USA. He has previously served as a volunteer with several charities including Deep Well, American Cancer society as well as various Chambers of Commerce.
Ed Weinlein
Jan Meyer
Jan is a former teacher and real estate agent from NJ who continues her expertise by assisting The Garcia Foundation in managing investment properties in Palmetto Dunes Plantation. Jan’s previous volunteer experience in NJ focused on mentoring disadvantaged high school students in Paterson NJ. Jan and her husband Gordon enjoy their daily walks around the PR golf courses with their standard poodle, Tucker. In addition to volunteer activities at First Presbyterian Church, Jan enjoys yoga classes, gardening, country music and planning travels for family events and personal enjoyment.
Beth’s past career was as a licensed certified Pastoral Counselor practicing in MD and VA area. She and her husband moved to Hilton Head Island for retirement in 2023. Her charity work has focused on children, family health and recovery work for abused women with families. She is currently on the board of Lifewise Academy, Inc. and attend Christian Renewal Church.
Beth D'Agostino
Scott King
Scott and his wife Anna have been owners in the Port Royal Community since 2015. They currently split time between Port Royal and Cleveland Ohio. Scott retired in 2023 after a career in finance with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Goodyear and TireHub. He has served on various nonprofit boards including the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanities. He and Anna have two adult children, Carly and Andrew. Since retirement, Scott has been working on his golf game and sharpening his trade skills as he restores Carly’s 200 year old farmhouse in Ohio.
Linda has lived in Hilton Head for six years. Previously, she lived in Cincinnati, Ohio where she worked as a Technical Sales Manager in Consumer Goods and Pharmaceutical Research. She is an active volunteer with the Oscher Lifetime Learning Institute at USCB and serves as the PRCCF Resource and Development Chair.
Linda Tobeson
Steve Shapiro
Steve has lived on Hilton Head Island for over 20 years. He serves on the Board, Nominating Committee and Resource Development Committee of the Port Royal Community Charitable Fund. He previously served on the Board of Temple Mickve Israel in Savannah and participated with Backpack Buddies. Steve had a 40 year successful career as an orthopedic surgeon, serves as a volunteer article reviewer for Foot & Ankle International and continues to practice orthopedics at Volunteers in Medicine Hilton Head.
PRCCF Annual Report 2024-25
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History / Founders' Giving
Port Royal Community Charitable Fund (PRCCF) - How we got here
In 2019, Renee Roth recognized that neighboring communities had established community funds to enable residents to pool resources and support those in need. Observing that Port Royal lacked a similar initiative—and believing strongly in the community’s willingness to support such an effort—she began exploring this concept for the Port Royal Community.
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She approached General Manager Lance Pyle to assess the viability of creating a community fund. He expressed support for the idea and, along with others, recommended that she consult with Emmy Rooney, a Port Royal resident and Vice President of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry (CFL). Ms. Rooney provided valuable insight into how CFL could partner with a Port Royal fund and outlined the resources and support available. She also advised forming a small task force to initiate the process.
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The initial task force included Jeanne Befano, Lou Befano, Anita Kerkoff, and Kay Williams. With guidance from CFL, the group held a series of meetings to establish the foundation of what would become the Port Royal Community Charitable Fund (PRCCF). During this period, the mission and purpose were defined, operating guidelines were developed, and grantmaking and financial processes, timelines, and priorities were formalized.
In February 2021, the Port Royal Board of Directors formally recognized and endorsed the Charitable Fund. The following month, additional members joined, and the task force transitioned into the official PRCCF Board of Directors. The inaugural Board included Renee Roth, Lou Befano, Jeanne Befano, Kaye Black, Kay Williams, Larry Fleming, Patti Soltys, Anita Kerkoff, and Paul Parrick. On April 12, 2021, PRCCF and CFL formally executed the agreement establishing the fund.
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The official launch of PRCCF took place in October 2021 with two events held at the Beach House. This was followed by a series of fundraising events, informational programs, and direct support initiatives benefiting local nonprofit organizations.
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In late 2021 and throughout 2022, PRCCF conducted ongoing fundraising efforts, highlighted by the Founders Circle campaign. This initiative recognized individuals who contributed $1,000 or more and played a critical role in establishing the Fund’s initial momentum. Founding donors are acknowledged on the PRCCF website.
The first round of grants was awarded in July 2022, totaling $20,000. Since then, PRCCF has implemented an annual grant cycle. Each year, nonprofit organizations aligned with the designated funding priorities submit applications through CFL. These applications are reviewed and evaluated by the PRCCF Grant Review Team using a structured and rigorous process. Grant recipients are announced at an annual awards ceremony each June. A complete list of grants awarded since inception is available on the PRCCF website.
The Port Royal community has demonstrated exceptional support for PRCCF. Through this collective effort, residents have made a meaningful impact by strengthening the broader community and supporting neighbors in need.
Founders' Initial Giving To Establish the Fund
Kaye Black - Recipient of the Community Foundation of the Low Country Webster Award 2025
