AFA and 1MM will continue to monitor Chick-fil-A’s corporate giving

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Dear Friend,

I want to thank you for your support of our Chick-fil-A campaign over the past several weeks. Your signature on our petition to Chick-fil-A had a tremendous impact, and I'm glad to share this news with you.

Dan Cathy, Chick-fil-A chairman and CEO, responded to a personal letter sent by Tim Wildmon, president of American Family Association – the parent ministry to One Million Moms. The AFA and 1MM petitions asked the company for clarification after Chick-fil-A stunned much of the evangelical community by changing its corporate giving.

In November, Chick-fil-A announced that it would no longer be donating money to The Salvation Army and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Homosexual activist organizations had hammered away at the two Christian non-profit groups because their doctrinal statements supported a biblical view of human sexuality and marriage. In turn, Chick-fil-A was accused of supporting "hate" because of its corporate giving.

In the letter to Mr. Cathy, he was asked two questions: (1) Will Chick-fil-A publicly state that it does not believe The Salvation Army and FCA are hate groups because of the ministries' beliefs about sexuality, marriage, and family? (2) Will you publicly state that Chick-fil-A will not hesitate to fund these two ministries again, should the opportunity arise in the future?

Mr. Cathy's written response included this statement: "We inadvertently discredited several outstanding organizations that have effectively served communities for years."

This response was a welcomed clarification. It appears that Mr. Cathy understands how many evangelicals perceived the company's decision, as he stated that these Christian groups were "inadvertently discredited." The fact that Dan Cathy called these two Christian groups "outstanding organizations" will mean a lot to evangelicals.

However, Wildmon also mentioned in the initial letter that Chick-fil-A stated the company would support Covenant House, a ministry to homeless youth, including homosexual young people. While it is admirable to help hurting youth – including those who are LGBTQ – Covenant House also openly promotes homosexuality as normal, natural, and healthy. This was evident in Covenant House's participation in the NYC gay pride parade and a number of other efforts that make it clear the ministry does not hold to a biblical view of human sexuality.

As a result, AFA and 1MM will continue to monitor Chick-fil-A's corporate giving, at least for the foreseeable future. We believe our supporters rely on us to do so.

Most of the Christians I know love Chick-fil-A and want to trust the company to uphold scriptural principles. We have all been huge fans of Chick-fil-A and want that to continue.

Blessings,

Monica Cole, Director
OneMillionMoms.com

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