Chick-fil-A will stop donations to homophobic and transphobic charities after immense backlash from queer activists
Chick-Fil-A, an American chicken restaurant with well-documented connections to anti-LGBT+ organisations, has just opened its first UK branch (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty)
Fast food chain Chick-fil-A will finally stop donating money to anti-LGBT+ charities and organisations following immense backlash from queer people.
The US-based fast-food chain has faced intense criticism for its donations to organisations such as the Marriage and Family Foundation, Family Research Council, Exodus International and Focus on the Family.
Officials have now confirmed that they will stop donating to anti-LGBT+ charities and will instead focus on education, homelessness and hunger, and will donate to one charity for each area.
Chick-fil-A will stop donating to anti-LGBT+ charities following backlash.
“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.”
From 2020, Chick-fil-A will donate to Junior Achievement USA to support education and Covenant House International to fight against homelessness. They will also donate $25,000 to a food bank in every new town or city they open a branch in.
There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are.
Tassopoulos said that the new measures would help them gain “more focus and more clarity”.
Chick-fil-A has donated millions of dollars to anti-gay causes. (Getty)
Chick-fil-A will now focus on annual grants to organisations and these grants will be reviewed every year. The company has not ruled out the possibility of donating to faith-based charities in the future, but said that they will not donate to any organisation that has an anti-LGBT+ stance.
Fast-food chain boss came out against same-sex marriage in 2012.
The fast-food chain has had a long and complicated history with LGBT+ issues. In 2012, CEO Dan Cathy said the company was against same-sex marriage.
“We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit,” Cathy said.
“We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.
“We operate as a family business … our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that.”
In the UK, there are just two Chick-fil-A outlets – one in the Scottish highlands and one in Reading.
The Reading Chick-fil-A restaurant only opened last month, but a week later, officials at the Oracle shopping centre said the lease would not be renewed due to the organisation’s anti-LGBT+ track record.
However, a petition has since been signed by more than 14,000 people calling for it to remain open.
