Restaurant chain Chick-Fil-A has given
more than $1 million to anti-gay groups over five years, a new
investigation has found.
The
findings compiled by the website EqualityMatters.org were released
Tuesday.
According to the report's authors, the
chicken restaurant funneled its anti-gay giving through the WinShape
Foundation, the company's charitable arm founded in 1984.
Between the years of 2003 and 2008, the
last year for which public records are available, WinShape
distributed $1.1 million to 8 groups, including $631,600 to the
National Christian Foundation, $480,000 to the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes, $15,000 to Serving Marriages, $5,000 to the
Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), $5,000 to the Christian Camp and
Conference Association, $2,850 to the Campus Crusade for Christ,
$2,000 to the Georgia Family Council and $1,000 to the Family
Research Council (FRC).
The largest benefactor of Chick-Fil-A's
giving, the National Christian Foundation, in turn supports numerous
anti-gay groups, including Focus on the Family, Family Life and the
FRC, the report found.
The findings belie recent statements by
Dan Cathy, president of Chick-Fil-A, in the wake of the restaurant's
sponsorship of a marriage seminar closely associated with the
anti-gay marriage group Pennsylvania Family Institute.
In
a two-minute-twenty-seven-second video message released in January,
Cathy denied that the company's donation was an endorsement of its
values.
“Let me be clear, Chick-Fil-A serves
all people and values all people,” Cathy said.
“Providing food to these events, or
any event, is not an endorsement of the mission, political stance or
motives of this or any other organization. Any suggestion otherwise
is just inaccurate,” he added.
Speaking to the New York Times,
Cathy said his company would “not champion any political agendas on
marriage and family,” then added that it would “continue to offer
resources to strengthen marriages and families.”