Chick-Fil-A doubles Anti-Gay funding

[FaxModem1]

Think Progress

Chick-fil-A Foundation’s Anti-LGBT Giving Nearly Doubled

By Josh Israel on Mar 14, 2013 at 4:45 pm

As Chick-fil-A’s corporate foundation came under heavy criticism last year for its long record of anti-LGBT behavior, the company attempted to distance itself from its political record, claiming it intedend “to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”

But despite suggestions by some that the company’s WinShape Foundation had already scaled back its anti-LGBT giving before that point, its newly released annual IRS filings for 2011 indicate nothing of the sort.

Most of the WinShape’s anti-LGBT giving in previous years went to groups like the Marriage & Family Foundation ($1,188,380 in 2010), the Fellowship Of Christian Athletes ($480,000 in 2010), and the National Christian Foundation ($247,500). Additionally, the group made small donations to the “ex-gay” group Exodus International ($1,000) and the hate group Family Research Council ($1,000).

In 2011, the group actually gave even more to anti-LGBT causes. Its contribution to the Marriage & Family Foundation jumped to $2,896,438 and it gave the same amount to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and National Christian Foundation as it had in 2010. In total, the anti-LGBT spending exceeded $3.6 million — almost double the $1.9 million from the year before.

While the group gave nothing directly to Exodus International or FRC, a large amount of Chick-fil-A/WinShape money still made its way to those groups. The National Christian Foundation (aka the National Christian Charitable Foundation) gave $4,100 to Exodus International and a stunning $1,260,040 to FRC. This was possible, in part, because of the $247,500 it received directly from WinShape and because the WinShape-backed Marriage & Family Foundation also transferred $870,834 to the group — the self-described “largest Christian grant-making foundation in the world.”

In essence, Chick-fil-A’s “charitable” contributions in 2011 were no less hateful than in 2010 — just less transparent.

Good thing I never stopped boycotting them.

[Flagg]

Not to defend their hateful bullshit, but how is this guy supposed to go back and reduce funding for the year before they decided (or publicly claimed to have decided) to stop getting involved with the issue?

[Mr. Coffee]

Yet another reason KFC is better than Chick-fil-a.

[Dalton]

You know, Flagg has a point. These are from 2011 filings. Why this new outrage? Didn't this controversy erupt in 2012?

[Darth Holbytlan]

You know, Flagg has a point. These are from 2011 filings. Why this new outrage? Didn't this controversy erupt in 2012?

I think this is the key quote:

But despite suggestions by some that the company’s WinShape Foundation had already scaled back its anti-LGBT giving before that point, its newly released annual IRS filings for 2011 indicate nothing of the sort.

(Emphasis mine.)

They link to this older article, which explains the point:

Campus Pride executive director Shane Windmeyer...claims that according to tax forms he exclusively has seen, Chick-fil-A was no longer funding anti-gay groups like the Family Research Council and ex-gay umbrella group Exodus International as of 2011. Therefore, Windmeyer explains that his organization has suspended its campaign against the anti-gay chicken company...

But Windmeyer fails to actually explain any concrete changes taking place at the company. The company’s donations to FRC and Exodus were piddling — no more than $1,000 in any given year — compared to the millions of dollars it apparently will continue to give to anti-gay organizations like the Marriage & Family Foundation and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

The new article is saying the same thing: The groups Chick-fil-A are still funding are hate groups, too, so this drop of these other organizations doesn't matter. It just adds the new information that the funding of the remaining groups went up in 2011.

[Dalton]

Oh, so they lied through their teeth in other words. I wonder if they actually thought nobody would notice.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Oh, so they lied through their teeth in other words. I wonder if they actually thought nobody would notice.

Given what is known about the owner, most likely he thought no one would notice.
At first I thought maybe he just didn't care, but if you don't care why would you announce you are stopping funding in the first place?