The Herrick Foundation is a grantmaking foundation run by Michigan’s Herrick family, the former owners of the Tecumseh Products Company. It played a central role in the company’s late 2000’s corporate power struggle, which, despite fierce opposition from the Foundation and its ownership shares, culminated in the eventual ousting of the Herrick family from the corporation. ^{1 2}

According to the University of Michigan, the Herrick Foundation is one of the largest charitable foundations in the state of Michigan. ³ The Foundation gives to a wide arrangement of Michigan-based organizations, focusing primarily on Christian, higher education, and right-of-center advocacy causes.

History

The Herrick Foundation was founded in 1949 by Ray Herrick, the founder of the Tecumseh Products Company, and his wife, Hazel. ⁴

At the time, the Tecumseh Products Company was the largest manufacturer of commercial refrigeration compressors in the world; the Herrick Foundation was the means by which Ray Herrick and his family sought to give his fortune back to southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio. ⁵ Tecumseh, then the site of the company’s main factory, is in southeast Michigan, 40 miles from the city of Toledo, Ohio.

Some of its largest philanthropic efforts were the construction of the Herrick Memorial Hospital in Tecumseh, Michigan and the revitalization of Michigan’s Adrian College. ⁶

After the death of Ray Herrick, his son Kenneth Herrick took over the company and the Herrick Foundation.

In 2003, Kenneth Herrick retired and passed down the control of the two organizations to his son, Todd Herrick, who, as of October 2019, still runs the Herrick Foundation. ⁷

Tecumseh Products Company Power Struggle

Due to foreign currency troubles and regulatory issues with their manufactured products, the Tecumseh Products Company lost hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue in the mid-2000s. Eventually, the company was forced to close and sell off its original Tecumseh, Michigan, manufacturing plant in 2007 to avoid bankruptcy. ⁸

In exchange for a $100 million outside loan, CEO Todd Herrick was forced to resign by the company’s board. But through the Herrick Foundation, he still held a supermajority of shares and retained chairmanship of the board of directors. From this position—which Todd later passed to his son, Kent Herrick—and a series of court challenges, the Herrick Foundation jockeyed for control of the board for years. ⁹

In 2013, however, Kent Herrick resigned from the chairmanship over a disagreement regarding the potential sale of the company’s Brazilian assets with shareholder James Roumell. Roumell, President of Roumell Asset Management, had become the new majority shareholder, superseding the Herrick Foundation. This effectively ended the decades of control that the Herrick family had over the Tecumseh Products Company. ¹⁰

Grantmaking

The Herrick Foundation gives millions each year to a variety of organizations, mostly in the state of Michigan. It is a frequent donor to community institutions like Detroit’s Henry Ford Health System and local environmental and arts organizations. ¹¹

Aside from those groups, it focuses the majority of its grantmaking on Christian, higher education, and right-of-center causes. In recent years, large donations have gone to such organizations, including: the United Methodist Retirement Communities, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Eastern Michigan University, the right-of-center Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and the right-of-center Heritage Foundation. ¹²

Leadership

The Herrick Foundation is run by Todd Herrick, the grandson of its founder, Ray Herrick. He draws no salary from the Foundation.

Funding

The Herrick Foundation’s 2018 filings show total revenues of $10,800,413 and total expenses of $7,873,103. Its assets of $131,031,389 make it one of the largest charitable foundations in the state of Michigan.

1. “Tecumseh Products Ousts President; Kent Herrick Becomes Chairman of the Board.” The Daily Telegram – Adrian, MI. The Daily Telegram – Adrian, MI, October 8, 2009. https://www.lenconnect.com/article/20091008/NEWS/310089959.
2. Halcom, Chad. “Tecumseh Products Founding Family out; Stock Price Soars.” Crain’s Detroit Business, January 27, 2013. https://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130127/NEWS/301279980/tecumseh-products-founding-family-out-stock-price-soars.
3. “Tecumseh Products Company Records.” Bentley Historical Library. University of Michigan. Accessed October 20, 2019. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-2016072?byte=177743093;focusrgn=bioghist;subview=standard;view=reslist.
4. “Tecumseh Products Company Records.” Bentley Historical Library. University of Michigan. Accessed October 20, 2019. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-2016072?byte=177743093;focusrgn=bioghist;subview=standard;view=reslist.
5. “Tecumseh Products Company Records.” Bentley Historical Library. University of Michigan. Accessed October 20, 2019. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-2016072?byte=177743093;focusrgn=bioghist;subview=standard;view=reslist.
6. “RAY W. HERRICK, 82, WAS FORD ASSOCIATE.” The New York Times. The New York Times, April 15, 1973. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/04/15/archives/ray-w-herrick-82-was-ford-associate.html.
7. “Herrick Son to Chair Tecumseh.” Toledo Blade, February 28, 2003. https://www.toledoblade.com/local/2003/02/28/Herrick-son-to-chair-Tecumseh/stories/200302280060.
8. Murray, Stefanie. “Tecumseh Plant Closure Not a Surprise, Officials Say.” mlive, November 7, 2007. https://www.mlive.com/annarbornews/2007/11/tecumseh_plant_closure_not_a_s.html.
9. “Family Feud – The Fight for Tecumseh Products.” Ann Arbor Observer, May 2009. https://annarborobserver.com/articles/family_feud.html#.XazByOhKjD4.
10. Halcom, Chad. “Tecumseh Products Founding Family out; Stock Price Soars.” Crain’s Detroit Business, January 27, 2013. https://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130127/NEWS/301279980/tecumseh-products-founding-family-out-stock-price-soars.
11. Herrick Foundation 990. Return of Organization Exempt from Tax Income (Form 990). Accessed October 20, 2019.
12. Herrick Foundation 990. Return of Organization Exempt from Tax Income (Form 990). Accessed October 20, 2019.