Chick-fil-A to end donations to groups that oppose gay and transgender rights - Washington Examiner

Chick-fil-A will stop giving money to organizations that are against gay and transgender rights.

The change will begin next year and is part of a complete restructuring of the chicken chain’s charitable arm of the company, the Chick-fil-A Foundation. Tim Tassopoulos, Chick-fil-A president and chief operating officer, told Bisnow that as the company expands, he wants to clarify its beliefs.

“There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are,” Tassopoulos said. “There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message.”

The change includes ending donations to organizations such as the Salvation Army, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Paul Anderson Youth Home.

Instead of sending money to more than 300 different charitable groups, as it currently does, the philanthropic arm of the company will instead focus on three different categories of initiatives — education, homelessness, and hunger — and donate to an accompanying charity associated with each.

[ Related: Chick-fil-A has more than doubled sales since critics called for boycott]

The Chick-fil-A Foundation plans to give about $9 million to those organizations next year, including $25,000 to a local food bank each time the company opens a new restaurant.

“This provides more focus and more clarity,” Tassopoulos said. “We think [education, hunger, and homelessness] are critical issues in communities where we do business in the U.S.”

Chick-fil-A’s CEO Dan Cathy has spoken against gay marriage in the past. The company, which is known for closing its restaurants on Sundays, was also criticized by gay rights activists after the foundation donated more than $1.8 million to groups such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, whose statement of faith says that “marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman.”

Future partners may be either religious or non-religious organizations, but the company said it would not make donations to organizations that have anti-gay positions.

“When there is a tension, we want to make sure we’re being clear. We think this is going to be helpful,” Tassopoulos added. “It’s just the right thing to do: to be clear, caring, and supportive and do it in the community.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to Chick-fil-A for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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