A potential record-breaking donation has caught the eyes of the HBCU world. What would have been the largest donation made to any HBCU in history has been found to be a bust. At one of the three commencement ceremonies at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Gregory Gerami announced that a donation of $273M would be given to the university through the Isaac Batterson 7th Family Trust, causing great excitement for FAMU and the HBCU community. This donation would surpass the current record made at Spelman College for a donation of $100M earlier this year from other donors.
Image Via: WCTV CBS Affiliate: The surprise donation presented at commencement.
Gerami is the founder and CEO of Batterson Farms Corporation which specializes in sustainable agriculture and biodegradable hemp products. He is also the representative of Isaac Batterson 7th Family Trust. In the state of Texas, sources say he is the “youngest African American” and is at the “forefront of his industry”. His unlikely and unfortunate upbringing made him a reasonable choice for FAMU to select as a speaker for their commencement as a representation of an overcomer, yet everyone is overcome with confusion surrounding the missing money and missing details that surround Gerami.
About a week after commencement, a meeting was held with the Board of Trustees to discuss the plans moving forward for this donation, yet the plans came to a halt as it was voted unanimously to put the process on hold to pursue an external investigation after details were found to negate credibility. Although Gerami exclaimed to the commencement crowd, “The money is in the bank,” several details were found that his statement was false. According to NPR, he transferred 14 million shares of stock of indeterminate value that could be worth $300 million or zero dollars”, ultimately making this donation void and nonexistent.
Image Via: Tallahassee Democrat: Gregory Gerami, Batterson Farms CEO.
According to AP, Gerami has not been the most credible donor and has a history of missed agreements. Gerami a year ago met with “ W. Anthony Neal, then-senior vice president of institutional advancement at Wiley University in Texas, who he talked with Gerami at least seven times” [virtually]’ yet the plans fell through once Gerami declined to meet in person.
According to The Sun News, Coastal Carolina University ceased and withdrew from a potential $95M donation, which has also led back to Gerami after it was found that he did not fulfill “an early expectation of the arrangement”. Sources say Gerami has considered “15” different universities in order to make “his company eligible for grants”.
With so much controversy and evidence leading to Gerami’s dead end, Larry Robinson, President of FAMU mentioned after the board meeting. “I wanted it to be real and ignored the warning signs along the way,” adding “The public announcement at commencement was premature at best, and I apologize to all who witnessed it and shared their joy and jubilation.”
The BOT chair Kristen Harper, who was not included in the internal details and bound by an NDA agreement, was furious after an apology from Robinson, stating “I should have never been put on the spot or used for a convenient photo or video op for a gift that I knew nothing about.”
Harper, supporting the decision to halt this transaction added, “I only wish the decision would have been made during the six months spent on developing the gift and before a public announcement would have been made that could tarnish the reputation of this university,” she said.
Image Via: Tallahassee Democrat & AOL: Kristen Harper at BOT meeting.
With such a monumental announcement, many would agree that announcements as such can leave a bad taste in the mouths of other potential donors and leave another mark against HBCUs as a whole. There were several “red flags” that were missed during the vetting process that point fingers back to the BOT and the President himself. How could a university miss the mark on such a large scale?
For most universities, there are several steps to vet and secure large monetary donations. Some of these steps include expression of interest, meetings with the university officials and members of the BOT to discuss what the specific university needs, time and financial distribution negotiation, and agreement all before an announcement is made.
It is rather unfortunate that this donation fell through, as it was stated in the document, this donation was going to advance several areas of the university including athletics and nursing students.
In light of the controversy, FAMU withdrew a $15 million request to a local economic development board to enhance FAMU’s football stadium, according to The Tallahassee Democrat. This immediately pointed to the fall through of this donation.
Robinson stated, “It is my belief that with the guidance of this board, we will arrive at a process much more transparent when it comes to such large gifts in the future.”
The aftermath of this decision to cease this transaction has pointed to the importance of vetting the source and following legal and financial protical before jumping at the possibility of a brighter future. In this case of “fools gold,” HBCUs will have to be more on guard for skeptical donors to secure the credibility and reputation of their institutions. Extensive background checks and stricter protocols when interacting with donors and university officials must be made to protect the students from grasping onto false hope even if that requires enlisting legal or financial experts to help “secure the bag”.
