In 2017, according to tax records, Chick-Fil-A donated $2,500 to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a group that has targeted Christian organizations in the past by categorizing groups that disapprove of same-sex marriage as “hate-groups.”

The Federalist notes:

It was the SPLC that motivated a terrorist shooter in 2012 to launch an assault on the Family Research Council with a semi-automatic pistol, 100 rounds of ammo, and 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches. “Southern Poverty Law [Center] lists anti-gay groups. I found them online,” said the shooter in an interrogation video made public by the FBI, adding that his plan was to “kill as many as possible and smear the Chick-fil-A sandwiches in victims’ faces, and kill the guard.”

Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, reacted to the report from Townhall that Chick-fil-A had donated to the SPLC: “Not only has Chick-fil-A abandoned donations to Christian groups including the Salvation Army, it has donated to one of the most extreme anti-Christian groups in America. Anyone who opposes the SPLC…is slandered and slapped with the ‘extremist’ label or even worse, their ‘hate group’ designation. It’s time for Christians to find a fast food alternative to Chick-fil-A.”

Earlier this month, in an interview with Bisnow, Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos stated that the food chain would be changing which charities it donates to. Bisnow reported Chick-fil-A’s charitable actions “will no longer include donating to organizations like the Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Paul Anderson Youth Home.”

Tassopoulos told Bisnow, “There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are. There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message.”

The Salvation Army issued a statement following the Bisnow report, reading:

We’re saddened to learn that a corporate partner has felt it necessary to divert funding to other hunger, education and homelessness organizations — areas in which The Salvation Army, as the largest social services provider in the world, is already fully committed.We serve more than 23 million individuals a year, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, we believe we are the largest provider of poverty relief to the LGBTQ+ population. When misinformation is perpetuated without fact, our ability to serve those in need, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or any other factor, is at risk. We urge the public to seek the truth before rushing to ill-informed judgment and greatly appreciate those partners and donors who ensure that anyone who needs our help feels safe and comfortable to come through our doors.

Ryan Bomberger, writing for Townhall, noted:

The Chick-fil-A Foundation’s recent announcement about its future funding again reaffirmed its redirection and capitulation. It just so happens that the same three groups targeted for years by LGBT organizations as anti-LGBT “hate groups” just happened to be the same ones that would no longer be funded: The Salvation Army, Paul Anderson Youth Home and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Chick-fil-A’s press release acknowledges that these groups were “characterized as anti-LGBT groups” but never dispels that.

Bomberger listed other leftist organizations that Chick-fil-A funds, including the YWCA, whose pro-abortion stance is evidenced by their repeated partnership with Planned Parenthood; the New Leaders Council, which identifies as a “hub of progressive millennial thought leadership” which exists to “support one another along their individual path to a more progressive political and cultural landscape”; The Pace Center for Girls, which has featured pro-abortion activist Gloria Steinem: Usher’s New Look, which has held a “Disruptivator Summit,” and Chris 180, which Bomberger notes “boasts of being awarded the ‘Leader in Supporting and Serving LGBT Families and Youth’ from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC).”