Chick-fil-A Says It Will Stop Donating to Anti-LGBTQ Organizations

The restaurant chain will focus on charities related to education, homelessness and hunger instead

Chick-fil-a chain restaurant in Middletown, DE, on July 26, 2019. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP)        (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Chick-fil-a chain restaurant in Middletown, DE, on July 26, 2019. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images

After years of protests, Chick-fil-A has finally promised to stop donating to anti-LGBTQ organizations.

The brand will stop donating to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army — groups with anti-LBGTQ ties that it has donated millions of dollars to in the past. “We made multiyear commitments to both organizations and we fulfilled those obligations in 2018,” a Chick-fil-A spokeswoman said on Monday.

CEO Dan Cathy has spoken out in opposition to gay marriage in the past, and the restaurant chain has faced allegations of homophobia for years. However, as the brand moves into new markets, it must distance itself from that. “There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are,” Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos told Bisnow. “There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message.”

The company will now limit its charitable donations to three main categories: education, homelessness and hunger.

“Chick-Fil-A investors, employees, and customers can greet today’s announcement with cautious optimism, but should remember that similar press statements were previously proven to be empty,” Drew Anderson, GLAAD’s director of Campaigns and Rapid Response, said in a statement. “In addition to refraining from financially supporting anti-LGBTQ organizations, Chick-Fil-A still lacks policies to ensure safe workplaces for LGBTQ employees and should unequivocally speak out against the anti-LGBTQ reputation that their brand represents.”

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