James Beard Charity Continues to Struggle

While the James Beard Foundation — the New York culinary organization that faced an embezzlement scandal in 2004 — is being run more professionally and openly, the organization is in worse shape financially, reports The New York Times.

Two years after hiring Susan Ungaro, the group’s current president, some questions about its mission that were raised by the scandal have not been resolved, the newspaper says.

Ms. Ungaro told the Times that there have been fiscal improvements over the past year. But for the fifth consecutive year, the organization will be almost $3-million in debt, according to its financial statements.

Annual revenues from sponsorships, donations, and events dropped by about $1-million since the scandal broke. Unable to meet expenses, the Beard Foundation took out a $2-million mortgage in December on its headquarters, a town house in Greenwich Village. The foundation has been criticized for spending too much time and money to save the townhouse, the former home of its namesake, James Beard, an influential cookbook author and food expert, and not enough money on the scholarships it gives out.

The organization gave out $155,750 in scholarships in the last fiscal year, according to its chief financial officer, Marilyn Platzer, or about 9 percent more than it gave out in the fiscal year before its previous president resigned.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)