“We have no agenda, policy or position against anyone. In 2012, the Chicago-based Civil Rights Agenda issued a statement claiming that Chick-fil-A had promised to “no longer give to anti-gay organizations, such as Focus on the Family and the National Organization for marriage.”Ĭhick-fil-A declined to comment on the matter at the time, instead issuing a boilerplate statement to BuzzFeed News: “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.”Īs Anderson’s statement suggests, Chick-fil-A has promised to cut ties with anti-LGBTQ charities before.
“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, director of campaigns and rapid response for GLAAD, told The Goods in an emailed statement. LGBTQ rights groups like GLAAD say Monday’s news is a step in the right direction for Chick-fil-A, though they warn the chain is still far from inclusive. LGBTQ groups are “cautiously optimistic” about the change Still, Tassopoulos’s comments suggest that the company’s reputation has suffered even if its bottom line hasn’t. “No organization will be excluded from future consideration–faith-based or non-faith-based,” Chick-fil-A President and COO Tim Tassopoulos said in a statement to VICE.Ĭhick-fil-A’s controversial donations don’t seem to have made a dent in its profits - as of late 2018, it was on track to be the third-largest fast-food chain in the United States - though it’s hard to know for sure since the company is still privately held. Chick-fil-A didn’t respond to The Goods’ request for comment, but a company spokesperson did tell VICE that it wouldn’t rule out giving to religious groups in the future. Notably, Chick-fil-A never explicitly said it would permanently stop donating to anti-gay groups or organizations that discriminate against LGBTQ people - it just said it was changing its philanthropic giving model. “There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message.” “There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are,” Tassopoulos told Bisnow. In an interview with real estate publication Bisnow, however, Chick-fil-A’s president and CEO Tim Tassopoulos made it clear that the company’s new donation strategy is at least partly related to the constant backlash Chick-fil-A has faced over its donations. The release didn’t outright say the biggest change to Chick-fil-A’s philanthropic giving plan: In 2020, the chain won’t give any money to charities that take anti-LGBTQ stances. Those funds will be distributed to Junior Achievement USA, Covenant House International, and local food banks in cities where the chain opens new locations. The foundation has set aside $9 million for 2020 that will be split between three initiatives: promoting youth education, combating youth homelessness, and fighting hunger. The Chick-fil-A Foundation will instead take “a more focused giving approach,” Chick-fil-A announced in a Monday press release. The fast-food chain is changing its charitable giving approach in 2020 - and says, in an oblique way, that it will no longer donate to such organizations. Chick-fil-A is arguably best known for three things: its juicy chicken sandwiches, its employees’ perpetually chipper attitudes, and its long history of donating to charities with anti-LGBTQ stances.īut one of those things seems to be changing next year.