Starting next year, Chick-Fil-A will stop donating to charities that have negative views against the LGBT community.
Chick-Fil-A president, Tim Tassopoulos, stated in an interview, “There’s no question, we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are. There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-Fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message.”
Organizations that the company no longer plan to contribute to include: The Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Paul Anderson Youth Home, each of which has been under fire in the past due to their views on homosexuality.
The announcement comes after Chick-Fil-A revealed it would be closing down its first location in the UK after less than two weeks due to heavy protests at the restaurant.
In a few months, Chick-Fil-A is also on track to open its first location in Boston, where the mayor has previously pledged to ban the company from opening within city limits due to their LGBT views.
While expanding globally and to more conservative parts of the U.S., Chick-Fil-A will donate $9 million to other organizations, including the junior Achievement USA that supports education and Covenant House International that will help combat homelessness and support community food banks for hunger initiative. Chick-Fil-A will also donate $25k to a local food bank with the opening of every new location.
”This provides more focus and more clarity. We think education, hunger, and homelessness are critical issues in communities where we do business in the U.S.,” Tassopoulos continued.
While news of Chick-Fil-A’s stance on the LGBT community has made headlines for years, following CEO Dan Cathy sharing his beliefs in the ‘biblical definition of marriage’ back in 2012, Chick-Fil-A has never lost any business.
Following Cathy’s remarks, Chick-Fil-A surpassed $5 Billion in sales in 2013. Fast forward to 2019, Chick-Fil-A is now the third-largest U.S. fast-food chain with a massive $10.5 Billion and more made in sales.
In addition to the new donations, Chick-Fil-A also plans on aiding with scholarships to team members of the company, assisting with revitalization initiatives in Atlanta, and giving away about $32 million in cash gifts in 2020.