FAMU reallocates funds but Marching 100 comes out ahead

Florida A&M’s storied marching band has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

In the Florida A&M University Foundation’s prolonged efforts of approving a 2025-26 fiscal year budget, a new revision required its board to zero out $400,000 that would’ve supported the FAMU Marching 100 band.

But it’s not a loss for the acclaimed program.

Here’s why: To make up for it, the university is tapping into its “carry forward funds” to support the band with roughly $800,000. Such funds are unspent money from previous budget years that the organization saves and uses for future expenses.

It’s a win for the Marching 100 as the money will help with bringing its headcount up to 330 student players, among other plans.

The foundation’s board met virtually Aug. 12 and unanimously voted to approve an amended 2025-26 budget proposal, where the $400,000 that was initially going toward the Marching 100 will now be reallocated to university executive support and the office of the president.

“He mentioned that he’s working to grow the band from 275 members to 330 members,” FAMU President Marva Johnson said during the full foundation board meeting on Zoom Aug. 12, referring to FAMU Marching 100 Band Director Shelby Chipman. “We think we can get him there.”

Although FAMU’s 2025-26 operating budget does not specify what the Marching 100’s budget is for this year, the initial $400,000 from the foundation would have been a one-time allocation as it was not in their budget last year.

She says Chipman also shared his playbook for the year with her leadership team, which includes events he plans for the band to attend and travel to, all while being “very committed” to all members being able to travel for every event.

“We want to be supportive of that vision, so the number we came to was about $803,000,” Johnson said. “We know that we’ll be able to meet the business plan he put in front of us to satisfy his vision for the band’s program.”

Of the $400,000 being reallocated in the foundation’s budget, $300,000 is going toward the university’s top salary support and brings the total funds in that category to $780,000.

It will help cover the salaries of the following:

• Executive Chief Operating Officer Kelvin Lawson, a strong Johnson supporter who was recently hired after being a longtime university trustee.

• Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Allyson Watson.

• Executive Vice President for Health Sciences Enterprise and Research Innovation Donald Palm.

• Chief of Staff Carmen Cummings-Martin.

Palm’s job is a new senior executive position that was created by Johnson. It is unclear what the administrators’ salaries will be this year, but the foundation board usually contributes to the compensation of senior leadership team members who have an annual salary that exceeds $250,000.

The remaining $100,000 from the reallocated $400,000 is being added to the foundation’s “office of the president” budget line item – bringing the total up to $200,000 in the category – and will be used to support student and fundraising initiatives, according to FAMU’s acting Vice President of University Advancement and executive director of the foundation Brandi Tatum-Fedrick.

The amendments come after the foundation hit a bump in the road when trying to determine how more money in the budget would be contributed to Johnson’s high-end salary, which was resolved following state legislation that allows FAMU’s Board of Trustees to tap into extra university funds for her compensation this year instead.

At the same time, it’s unclear whether the foundation will be responsible to help pay the majority of the new president’s salary in the years to come.

“I recognize that the process around this budget approval has not been easy,” Tatum-Fedrick, who was recently appointed to her acting position, told the foundation board members. “I know it’s created challenges for all involved. While I cannot change any of that or what has already occurred, I believe we can work together to build a strong strategy that moves FAMU forward.”

Despite the Marching 100 getting allocated more money from the university compared to what would’ve been provided by the foundation, foundation board member Monica Williams Harris expressed concerns during the meeting of how the change might lead alumni to infer that the foundation’s is not supporting the band this year.

Financial concerns have also come from FAMU’s band students. Several of the student players attended a university board meeting on campus in June, sharing public comments to express their need for scholarship money and additional support.

“Because we have folks looking at this budget… who may not be sitting in on this meeting, it gives the impression that we’re zeroing out funding and support for students,” Harris said.

But the foundation’s board chair Kenneth Neighbors says he believes it’s time to “take the deal as it sits,” reminding the members of their advocacy for student support that potentially inspired the change.

“In good faith, we remind the Rattler nation that we fund athletics and the Marching 100 through the kinds of donations and generosity of the various alumni, family and friends that have accounts,” Neighbors said.

“All that we do for them is not shown in our operating budget. Our funding for the 100 was a stopgap measure, so to speak, but now it’s being handled elsewhere. I think that comes out of our push and our communication, so I would strike this as a win.”

To make the reasoning behind the funding changes more clear to alumni and other university stakeholders, a footnote has been added to the amended budget proposal to explain how the roughly $800,000 from FAMU’s carry forward funds will make up for the $400,000 line item for the band that has been zeroed out.

The next step in the approval process is for FAMU’s Board of Trustees to approve the foundation’s revised budget proposal. It is unclear if the university’s board will vote on the spending plan during its upcoming meeting next month, or earlier.

Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU band gains more funding despite $400K budget cut