Canvas Rebel Magazine Interview

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Meet Shannon Du Plessis

Note: This interview originally appeared here: https://canvasrebel.com/meet-shannon-du-plessis/ on January 20, 2025.

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shannon Du Plessis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shannon below.

Shannon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

There is a scene in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean where Captain Jack Sparrow runs about, yelling, “Why is the rum gone?” When my husband, Kruger, took me to see the African penguins in South Africa, where he grew up, in 2010, he had a similar reaction. Where have the African penguins gone? We didn’t know at the time that our visit coincided with the year the penguins were declared an endangered species. The penguins, found only in South Africa and Namibia, “had me at hello” to use another movie quote. The seed for setting up a foundation to protect them was planted during that visit.
When we got back home, we realized that most people in the US didn’t know African penguins existed, let alone that their population was rapidly declining. We began talking to organizations that are now our partners in South Africa about how to help and in 2022 we became the only US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated solely to protecting the now (as of October 2024) critically endangered African penguins. Sir David Attenborough says, “It’s surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth.” We take that responsibility seriously and decided to do what we can to save a species, one African penguin at a time.

Shannon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Since co-founder Kruger du Plessis was raised in South Africa, we have a strong tie to the country. We work with our partners in South Africa to bolster critically endangered African penguin populations in the wild. Our partners’ generous spirits touch us, and we share their excitement about working with the critically endangered (and adorable) African penguins. There’s something magical about working together to save a species from extinction.

We are unique as the only U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit devoted solely to protecting critically endangered African penguins. Like most animal conservation problems, the threat to African penguins began with humans.

Human harm began in the 1800s when greedy humans stole the African penguin’s guano (we call it bird po*p, they called it “white gold”) for fertilizer, leaving African penguins without the material they needed to build their burrows and, therefore, much more vulnerable to predators. African penguin eggs were a delicacy at the time. Rumors have it that they were served in the Titanic, and we know what happened there. Next came climate change, commercial fishing, plastics, human encroachment, and oil spills, leading to a 97% decline in the African penguin population. In addition to the cuteness factor, African penguins create thousands of jobs and bring R613 million to R4.5 billion ($35 million to $259 million) to South Africa from tourists visiting the African penguins.

We raise awareness in the Global North for our partners and feathered friends in the Global South through educational programs, outreach efforts via presentations and interviews, both in person and online, and raising funds for:

  • bolstering the chick population, rearing abandoned or lost chicks, and incubating eggs—a vital part of the African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan;
  • paying the salary of African penguin rangers;
  • rehabilitating injured, ill, or oiled birds;
  • responding to emergencies or time-sensitive needs;
  • advocating for increased Marine Protection Areas to protect the ecosystem African penguins need to thrive, and
  • equipping African penguin populations with artificial nests.
  • We are very proud of the KruShan Foundation X-Ray room being built at the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary. The addition of the X-ray room will save much-needed time in diagnosing the cause of bird injuries so that medical help can begin immediately.
  • By paying the salary of the Penguin Ranger for the Dyer Island African penguin colony, we provide 24/7 care and protection to hundreds of African penguins.
  • During electrical load shedding in South Africa, we provided two gas-powered freezers to keep the fish needed to feed African penguins living in a sanctuary from spoiling. The food was also needed for the penguins arriving who needed rehabilitation before being released back into the wild. Without the freezers, the sanctuary would not have been able to keep enough fish and would have had to turn penguins away.
  • We funded the rehabilitation of 15 African penguin chicks rescued during extreme winter storms and can happily report that all survived and were returned to the wild.
  • We are expanding our outreach and education initiatives in 2025. We’ve partnered with the DEEP Blue Ambassador program in Gansbaai, South Africa. DEEP works with dedicated groups of school students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Unemployment is high, social ills are on their doorstep, and hope for a successful future is often lacking.
  • DEEP’s impactful three-year program introduces these young learners to science and conservation.

We are proud to hold Candid/Guidestar’s Platinum rating, their highest rating for transparency.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Kruger and I met at work 22 years ago when we were both doing much different work than we do now. He was working in IT and I was the company billing director. We ignored the warning that you shouldn’t get involved with a co-worker and here we are, about to celebrate our 20-year wedding anniversary, getting to work together to protect a species we dearly love so that the penguins will still be around for our grandchildren to see. It’s a privilege to get to work together and a dream way to spend our third act in life. It’s also the most challenging and rewarding work either of us have ever done.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Our clientele is donors. Our strategy was simple. We admitted what we didn’t know. I know non-profits from being a non-profit accountant for several years. Kruger knows IT, so our tech stack wasn’t an issue. We didn’t know how to fundraise or build a social media presence. We hired a fundraising consultant that we found on LinkedIn, who worked with us and, as a result, have new donors, one major donor, a regular newsletter, an increase in followers and engagement online, and are beginning to look at potential grants. We hit a significant milestone with donations in 2024, resulting in revenue of just over $50,000, which requires us to file what we call a real IRS form 990, rather than the postcard version that doesn’t require any financial information. We are still young, just starting our third year, and building our followers and advocates. We don’t ever want to forget to admit what we don’t know and ask for help. We’re so grateful to our partners and look forward to increased engagement with other penguin and bird lovers in 2025.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Shannon du Plessis
Kruger du Plessis