The head of Newman's Own Foundation has been ousted from his position after allegations of misconduct from employees, though the nature of the misconduct has not been officially released.
Bob Forrester was Paul Newman's right-hand man, and he took over the Westport-based foundation when Newman died in 2008.
But following an investigation into allegations of misconduct, Forrester has been removed from his role as president.
In a statement, the foundation said it "took action after an independent investigation into allegations brought forward by employees regarding their experiences working at the Foundation."
The statement added that Newman's Own Foundation 鈥渄oes not tolerate unacceptable behavior.鈥�
A spokesperson declined to comment further on the nature of the allegations against Forrester.
Following Forrester's dismissal, Jennifer Smith Turner, the foundation鈥檚 executive vice president, has taken over as president on an interim basis.
Newman's Own is a significant part of the nonprofit ecosystem. In 2017, it donated to nonprofits in 35 states, including dozens in 黑料吃瓜网. Their grants range from a few thousand dollars to, in one case, $4 million.
That year, 黑料吃瓜网 received $367,000 through the foundation, according to its form 990 filing with the IRS. Mark Contreras, president and CEO of 黑料吃瓜网, said he doesn鈥檛 expect the relationship with Newman鈥檚 Own to sour.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had a longstanding relationship with Newman鈥檚 Own Foundation, and I look forward to working with Jennifer Smith Turner, given that both of our institutions have similar missions,鈥� Contreras said.
Contreras recently started work at 黑料吃瓜网, and said he has not yet met with anyone from Newman鈥檚 Own Foundation.
Gian-Carl Casa, president of the 黑料吃瓜网 Nonprofit Alliance, said he doesn't expect the allegations to impact the foundation's relationships with other nonprofits.
"You know, I don't think that most people look at isolated cases and take it out on community organizations that they know and trust,鈥� Casa said, adding that there鈥檚 been a recent decline in giving to nonprofits, and he hopes this incident doesn鈥檛 add to the problem.
Forrester couldn't be reached for comment.
