Chick-Fil-A Donated Nearly $2 Million To Anti-Gay Groups In 2009

In the past I have urged readers to boycott Chick-Fil-A and to urge family members and friends to do so as well. It turns out that my urging was well placed. As Equality Matters is reporting, new IRS 990 forms reveal that the company donated nearly two million dollars to anti-gay groups in 2009 (the most recent year available)alone. In short, what was an egregious level of anti-gay activism for the years 2003 through 2008 was merely the tip of the iceberg. One can only imaging what amounts have been given in 2010 and so far this year. Yes, the owners of Chick-Fil-A are free to donate their money as they wish, but there is no reason why LGBT Americans and their allies should be helping to underwrite the anti-gay jihad. Here are some highlights from Equality Matters:

The WinShape Foundation is Chick-fil-A's charitable arm, created by Chick-fil-A founder and chairman S. Truett Cathy in 1984. WinShape has received a substantial amount of funding from Chick-fil-A: in 2009 alone, WinShape received $7,814,788 from Chick-fil-A Inc. [Winshape 2009 Publicly Available IRS 990 Form via Foundation Center, accessed 10/28/11]

WinShape Gave Over $1.7 Million To Anti-Gay Groups. In 2009 alone, WinShape donated $1,733,699 to multiple anti-gay groups:

Marriage & Family Legacy Fund: $994,199
Fellowship Of Christian Athletes: $480,000
National Christian Foundation: $240,000
Focus On The Family: $12,500
Eagle Forum: $5,000
Exodus International: $1,000
Family Research Council: $1,000

[Winshape 2009 Publicly Available IRS 990 Form via Foundation Center, accessed 10/28/11]

As readers may recall, back in January of this year Chick-fil-A president and COO Dan Cathy released a statement denying that Chick-fil-A's donation to a conference sponsored by the Pennsylvania Family Institute was an endorsement of traditional marriage. Cathy - obviously disingenuously in hindsight - argued that Chick-fil-A had "no agenda against anyone," and that the company would not "champion any political agendas" relating to marriages or families. Cathy would appear to be the typical Christianist: if his lips are moving, he's likely lying.

Next time you're out driving around and want to grab a quick bite to eat, I hope you will drive right on by Chick-Fil-A find someplace that doesn't underwrite anti-hay bigotry as a de facto matter of corporate policy.