created in 1998 through a gift from the Boyd’s to honor their son, Darnall W. Boyd, Jr., who died in an accident in 1985.

Boyd Plaza, at the entrance to the Columbia Museum of Art, was originally created in 1998 through a gift from Susan and Donny Boyd to honor their son, Darnall W. Boyd, Jr., who died in an accident in 1985. After twenty-five years, the Plaza began to look tired. The Boyd Foundation hired Columbia architectural firm Quackenbush Architects + Planners and Grimball Cotteral Landscape Architects to plan the renovation of the space with raised flowerbeds, picnic, and event space. The update to the Plaza was completed in 2019. 

The Foundation spent over $4.656 million to renovate and maintain the Plaza.

 A “wicked cool” facility highlighting conservation and providing an extraordinary experience for its visitors.

The Aquarium and Reptile Center has been the most popular exhibit at Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens since it opened in November 1989. Thirty years of wear and tear left the facility in need of renovation. In 2020, Tommy Stringfellow, the Zoo’s Executive Director, Lochlan Wooten, the Chief Operating Officer, and other staff approached the Boyd Foundation about renovation funding.  The Foundation, presented with options of a “return to glory” or a “wicked cool” alternative, decided that the Zoo and the Midlands should have the truly outstanding “wicked cool” option. This option completely reimagined the facility for an extraordinary experience highlighting conservation occurring behind the scenes.

The Foundation invested $8.5 million dollars in this project.

The seven-acre island is located where the Saluda and Broad Rivers come together to form the Congaree River.

In 2010, Susan and Donny Boyd went on a canoe trip with Mike Dawson and Ozzie Nagler of the River Alliance to see what would become Boyd Island ten years later. Located at the point where the Saluda and the Broad Rivers converge to form the Congaree River, the seven-acre island boasts walking trails, picnic tables, and benches. A gazebo created by Chris Stuyck and inspired by the endangered spider lily that calls the Congaree home and sculptural pieces by Renne’ Bemis depicting native wildlife are scattered throughout.

The Foundation donated $1.296 Million for the completion of this project.

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The South Carolina Waterfowl Association conducts summer and school year camping programs for children.  Camp Woodie is a traditional summer camp where the campers learn about wildlife conservation, hunting, fishing, outdoor skills, and the environment. During the 2026 camping season, Camp Woodie hosted over 1,100 campers registered for one of the ten one-week sessions it offers.

During the school year the SCWA facilities are utilized to conduct Camp Leopold.  The Camp Leopold campers are secondary school students who come the Camp for one, two or three day camp sessions designed to teach students from public and private schools about natural resource conservation, ecology and how mankind can live in harmony with Mother Nature.  SCWA expects to have over 6,500 students attend Camp Leopold during the 2026/2027 school year.  Camp Leopold attracts students from both public and private schools.  The program boasts over $50,000 in annual scholarship funding for title 1 school students to attend Camp Leopold.

On the weekends, SCWA also operates its Outdoor Heritage Events program.  Heritage Events include parent child shooting sports clinics, duck, dove, and deer hunts, retriever trials, bass fishing tournaments, archery tournaments and wildlife management and hunting skills weekends.

During the winter waterfowl season the SCWA facilities are utilized by waterfowl hunters.

The use of SCWA property and facilities is efficiently maximized with four different uses, which do not overlap with one another.

To date, the Foundation has spent over $3.9 million supporting SCWA projects.

Boyd Camp

In 2017, the Foundation purchased 127 acres  adjacent to the Wildlife Education Center to create Boyd Camp. It also funded the purchase of deer stands, the construction of a sporting clays course, a thirty-five-acre duck pond with five blinds, and a campground with five cabins. Operated by the SCWA, Boyd Camp provides shooting sports, duck and deer hunting, and camping for children ages ten to seventeen. All adults must be accompanied by a child! 

Boyd Dining Hall at Camp Woodie

With the growth in the number of campers at Camp Woodie from 100 in 1995 to over 1,100 in 2026, and the growth in the number of Camp Leopold attendees from 300 in 2013 to a projected attendance of over 6,500 in the 2026/2027 school year, the existing dining facilities were overwhelmed.  In 2020 ground was broken for the Boyd Dining Hall which was completed in April of 2021, just in time for the Camp Woodie 2021 campers.  The Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation was proud to provide the funding for the construction of the Boyd Dining Hall.

Boyd Lodge at Camp Woodie

The Boyd Lodge provides much needed accommodations for female campers and plays a vital role in helping the SCWA further its mission — to enhance and perpetuate our wildlife heritage through education and habitat conservation. With this lodge, the SCWA is able to expand hands-on conservation education to more young sportswomen, empowering future leaders in our field.

The Taylor House is the former home of Susan Boyd’s grandparents, Thomas and Susan Ames Taylor, Jr. In 1949, the Taylor family donated the house to the Columbia Arts Association, which expanded and renovated the home for use as the Columbia Museum of Art. Adjacent to the new School of Law and now an asset of the University of South Carolina, the renovated Taylor House will house various projects sponsored by the School of Law. The University and the Boyd Foundation collaborated to renovate the home.

The Foundation has donated $3.3 million so far to complete the renovation of the Taylor House.

The Hampton-Preston Mansion, built in 1818, is owned by Richland County and operated by Historic Columbia as an historic house museum.  The building and its grounds occupy an entire city block, bounded by Blanding, Pickens, Laurel and Henderson streets.  The property’s extensive gardens were renowned throughout the United States from 1840 through the 1970s.

The Boyd Foundation’s relationship with the Mansion began in 2012 when it funded the restoration of the main entrance gate and surrounding wall. In 2017, with a nod to Susan Boyd’s interest in gardening, the Foundation funded the restoration of the gardens on the north side of the Mansion.

In 2019, the Foundation funded the renovation of the Mansion’s basement to create classrooms and bathrooms for special events. The Foundation also created a sunken patio on the north side of the house to encourage private events at the Mansion.

The Foundation has donated a total of $3.92 million for the Hampton Preston and Robert Mills projects.

Hampton-Preston Mansion Greenhouse and Gatehouse

In 2020, the Foundation began its final project at the Hampton-Preston site, the reconstruction of a greenhouse at the Northern end of the property and a gatehouse.  Unfortunately, there are very few pictures of the original greenhouse, but the Foundation, Historic Columbia and Lambert Architecture + Construction Services have worked together to create something historically accurate as well as functional in today’s world.  The gatehouse will be an interesting addition to the west (Pickens Street) wall.  Originally the gatehouse was used as a point of ingress and egress for the public to enjoy the beautiful gardens, without disturbing the family by coming through the main gate on Blanding Street.  Again, historical data on the design of the original gatehouse is scant, but every effort has been made to replicate the original.

Robert Mills House Gardens

At the Robert Mills House, the Foundation funded the revitalization of the gardens on the southern side of the building and opening up the property, visually, to Taylor Street.