God instituted marriage between one man and one woman as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. “We believe God’s design for sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the context of marriage. 18, the Chick-fil-A Foundation in 2018 gave $1.65 million to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a non-profit Christian sports ministry whose “Statement of Faith” proclaims: As such, the Salvation Army and Fellowship of Christian Athletes do not appear to have been specifically targeted.Īccording to tax documents also published on Nov.
While the shift in strategy would mean an end to funding for controversial Christian groups (in 2020 at least), it would also spell an end to disbursements for several dozen other organizations with no record of anti-LGBT policies, many of them with no religious affiliation. This was an important piece of context, and many news reports misled readers by omitting it. Staying true to its mission of nourishing the potential in every child, the Chick-fil-A Foundation will deepen its giving to a smaller number of organizations working exclusively in the areas of education, homelessness and hunger.”Īccording to the statement, the new approach will involve the Foundation giving a total of $9 million to Junior Achievement USA, a K-12 educational non-profit Covenant House International, a non-profit focused on youth homelessness and donating $25,000 to a food bank in every location where Chick-fil-A opens a new restaurant.Ī company spokesperson confirmed that these would be the only charitable initiatives to which the Foundation would be contributing in 2020, meaning more than 80 other organizations would miss out on funding they had received in 2019, according to a fact sheet published by the company. “Starting in 2020, the Chick-fil-A Foundation is introducing a more focused giving approach to provide additional clarity and impact with the causes it supports. 18, Chick-fil-A announced a new donations strategy for the Chick-fil-A Foundation, the company’s official philanthropic arm.
However, when asked by Snopes, a spokesperson for Chick-fil-A did not link the strategic shift to concerns over the LGBT-rights records of the groups in question, and would not rule out any group receiving funding in future, “as long as they are highly effective in areas of hunger, homelessness and education.”įurthermore, many news reports markedly failed to mention that the fast food company’s change in approach to charitable donations did not appear to have been specifically targeted at Christian organizations perceived as anti-LGBT, and that in fact more than 80 groups - many of them with no religious affiliation - who received funding in 2019, would also no longer be funded. In November, Chick-fil-A did indeed announce a new charitable-donations strategy for 2020 and beyond, and that strategy no longer involves disbursing funding to groups such as the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, connections that have damaged the company’s public image in some quarters. There were significant elements of truth to these reports. The Atlanta-based company in 2020 plans to funnel more of its donations to fewer charities, targeting issues like homelessness, hunger and education, the Chick-fil-A Foundation said Monday.”įor its part, The Guardian published a story with the headline “Chick-Fil-A Pulls Funding for Christian Groups Criticised for LGBT Stance.” “Chick-fil-A is shifting its charitable donations in the new year as the fast-food chain looks to avoid the spotlight that came with its history of financing evangelical groups that opposed LGBTQ rights, including same-sex marriage. Both organizations have taken controversial stands on homosexuality and same-sex marriage.”ĬBS News posted an article with the headline “Chick-Fil-A to Stop Donations to Some Charities After LGBT Protests,” adding that: That list no longer includes the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). The fast food chain announced Monday that beginning next year it will only donate to a certain group of charities. “Chick-fil-A is making major changes to its charitable foundation, ending donations to two organizations that have been criticized for being anti-LGBTQ. 18, CNN published an article with the headline “Chick-Fil-A Will No Longer Donate to Anti-LGBTQ Organizations,” which reported that: In November 2019, we received multiple inquiries from readers about the accuracy of reports that the fast food giant Chick-fil-A had announced it would cut off donations to religious groups whose views and policies on LGBT rights have drawn criticism in the past.