Suspended Myrtle Beach-area foundation is prepping for annual festival. Should it be?
A Myrtle Beach-area charity is preparing for its popular annual festival – even as it remains suspended by the South Carolina Secretary of State (SCSOS).
As the Socastee Heritage Festival’s April 11 date approaches, the non-profit organization behind the event is out of legal compliance, according to the SCSOS, and recovering from “violations of the Foundation’s bylaws and other internal matters,” according to the foundation itself.
On Feb. 18, the Socastee Heritage Foundation maintained it was “in full compliance with all federal and state regulations” as a 501(c) organization. But according to the SCSOS, the charity was suspended on Jan. 2 for failure to pay a fine for a delinquent annual financial report for the June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024, fiscal year.
“Until they are actively registered, they can’t solicit contributions,” said SCSOS general counsel and public information director Shannon Wiley. “Right now, they have one open violation.”
Despite the suspension, on Feb. 11 the Socastee Heritage Foundation took to Facebook to solicit sponsors for the April festival.
“Become a Sponsor for the Socastee Heritage Festival,” the post says. “We have several levels to fit your budget. Sponsorships start at $100 & go up to $2000. “
The report hadn’t been submitted as of Feb. 19, Wiley said, but the Socastee Heritage Foundation had been in communication with the SCSOS about getting back in compliance.
“There’s a late financial that they have a violation for, and then there’s a second one they will need to file with a registration and a fine reduction request,” Wiley said.
Once the Socastee Heritage Foundation is back in compliance, it will be able to solicit donations, but as recently as Feb. 24, the charity appeared on the SCSOS’s list of suspended charities.
Other issues at Socastee Heritage Foundation
The charity also seems to have had more issues brewing behind the scenes. In a vague statement shared to social media, the foundation alludes to problems with a member of leadership.
“In April 2025, the Board made the difficult decision to remove a board member due to violations of the Foundation’s bylaws and other internal matters, which we will not discuss publicly,” said the post, which limits others’ ability to comment.
The post said, “it has become clear that we must respond” to “false information has been circulating about the Socastee Heritage Foundation and the Socastee Heritage Festival,” but no further details were shared about the apparent violations, and the foundation did not return The Sun News’s messages.
The charity did say that three new members were brought on the board, including one to oversee the festival. According to the statement, there are now six board members in total, although their names aren’t listed on the Socastee Heritage Foundation website.