Chick-fil-A “donates another $1.8 million to anti-LGBTQ groups,” backtracking on its promise not to.
Documents show Chick-fil-A did not backtrack on donation recipients
If your time is short
- The donations to the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes amounting to $1.8 million were made in 2018, a year before the company said it would no longer donate to the organizations.
An Instagram post targets Chick-fil-A for allegedly backtracking on a promise to not donate to “anti-LGBTQ groups.”
The company’s foundation previously donated to the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, groups that have vocally opposed same-sex relationships.
The company’s philanthropic arm eventually changed its policy on donating to these groups, but the Instagram post claims the company misled the public.
“After Promising Not to, Chick-fil-A Donates Another $1.8 Million to Anti-LGBTQ Groups,” said an April 20 Instagram post.
The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
In November 2019, the foundation said that it would donate only to organizations that work exclusively in education, homelessness and hunger.
The foundation also said it will no longer make multiyear commitments — which it had made to the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
However, the company said that it would still consider faith-based and nonfaith-based organizations for donations.
The headline in the Instagram post is from a 2019 article on The WOW Report, a website run by the entertainment company World of Wonder.
The WOW Report article cited tax documents from 2018 — a year before Chick-fil-A said it would stop donating to the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The records show donations of about $1.8 million; about $1.6 million to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and $115,000 to the Salvation Army.
Chick-fil-A Foundation Inc.’s tax filings for 2020, the most recent publicly available, do not show donations to Salvation Army or the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Bryan Malenius, a Chick-fil-A spokesperson, told PolitiFact the company did not donate to those two organizations after 2019.
We rate the Instagram post’s claim False.
PolitiFact researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
Our Sources
Instagram post, April 20, 2023
The WOW Report, After Promising Not to, Chick-fil-A Donates Another $1.8 Million to Anti-LGBTQ Groups, Dec. 13, 2019
Chick-fil-A Foundation, Chick-fil-A Foundation Announces 2020 Priorities to Address Education, Homelessness, Hunger, Nov. 18, 2019
Bisnow, EXCLUSIVE: Chick-fil-A To Stop Donations To Charities With Anti-LGBT Views, Nov. 18, 2019
VICE, Chick-fil-A Won't Entirely Rule Out Donating to Anti-LGBTQ Charities Again, Nov. 18, 2019
The New York Times, Chick-fil-A Stops Giving to 2 Groups Criticized by L.G.B.T.Q. Advocates, Nov. 18, 2019
Vox, The Salvation Army says it doesn’t discriminate against LGBTQ people. Critics say that’s not true., Dec. 16, 2019
Reuters, Calif. school district can't bar Christian club opposed to gay marriage, court rules, Aug. 29, 2022
Vox, Chick-fil-A’s charitable foundation kept donating to anti-LGBTQ groups, March 22, 2019
Forbes, Chick-fil-A Stops Donations To Anti-LGBTQ Groups, Nov. 18, 2019
ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Full text of the Chick-Fil-A Foundation Inc’s Form 990 for calendar year 2020
USA Today, Fact check: Chick-fil-A has not resumed donations to groups that oppose LGBTQ rights, June 30, 2020
Email interview, Bryan Malenius, spokesperson for Chick-fil-A, April 26, 2023
