A new look and a new name as Coral Restoration Panama becomes Caribbean Coral Restoration

You might not know this, but our organization has branches in different countries to meet fundraising and licensing objectives. The creation of these org structures serve us in several ways: we are able to meet the licensing and regulatory requirements of the Panamanian government and local environmental authorities, and we are able to support our organization with donations via a 501c3 nonprofit registered in the United States.

When we began setting up our brand and website, we were initially intended to partner with an international coral restoration organization that was interested in forming international branches around the globe – of which Coral Restoration Panama would be one. Despite good intentions, the foundation decided to scrap the program, and we were left with an organization name that was in conflict to their brand identity, and didn’t actually reflect any of the names under which our organization was formally registered.

Early in 2019, our Founder Doug Marcy decided to engage with an external strategic consultant to help formalize and document the real vision and strategy for our growth. Over a series of weeks, workshops and information gathering sessions, it came to light that the name and brand we had online – Coral Restoration Panama – would need to change. This would be so that a) our brand would not be in intellectual property conflict with another organization, b) our online branding would reflect the “actual” name of our organization and c) we could further differentiate ourselves in online searches and social media profiles. (It was a big problem that our organization was losing donations due to brand confusion!)

So – after a busy fall implementing this new strategic vision, the newly defined marketing approach, and doing a comprehensive brand change, we are delighted to announce that Coral Restoration Panama has officially become Caribbean Coral Restoration and in the coming weeks we will be launching our new website, branding and make the change across the internet.

FAQs about the Name Change:

What is the new website URL?

Our new website main URL Is loveforthesea.com

To boost our find-ability (and fund-ability), and to protect our organizations brand identity, there are SEVERAL domains that take you to our new site. You can find our new website using any of the following URLs:

• CaribbeanCoralRestorationCenter.com/org
• CaribbeanCoralRestoration.com/org/net/info
• coralrestorationpanama.com/org/net/info
• panamacoralrestorationcenter.com
• panamacoralrestoration.com/net/org/info
• ayudaalatierra.com
• loveforthesea.com/org/net/info

Why loveforthesea.com?

Part of what makes a successful marketing strategy for non-profits is having a strong “rallying cry” that is appealing to our biggest fans, and brings people who may not know about coral restoration into the fold of supporting coral restoration. During our strategic development in early 2019, we spent time identifying essential segments of our target market, and what they have in common. The common denominator between each of these: donors, supporters, volunteers, partners, other organizations – a profound love for the sea.

So, this is how we champion the cause; the rallying cry for our mission, for our programs, our dream to bring health and balance to the Bocas Del Toro ecosystem.

It explains our activism, our unmitigated desire to explore, protect and shepherd the sea. It is the siren song we sing to call our friends, talented team members, most impassioned supporters and advocates to our mission.

Selfie-taking mermaids, turtle conservationists, tourists and beach goers, researchers, artists, philanthropists, fishermen, boat captains, and anyone who’s ever felt their heart leap at the sight of the deep blue…

Love for the sea begins here.

Can we check out the fresh strategy?

Sure! We have a public summary version that you may find interesting; you can check it out here.

What’s Next?

Beyond the pressing priority of raising funds for our 2020 operating costs, and another boat to support our growth , we are launching two initiatives in the beginning of 2020…

1. Building local and international via our new Caribbean Coral Restoration Advocates Program to strengthen our local community support network and to spread the organizations needs across a larger group of people who can help.
2. Planning a large scale, protected Marine Park and Education Center that will further our mission in the Bocas Archipelago.

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