As Chick-fil-A’s corporate foundation came under heavy criticism last year for its long record of anti-LGBT behavior, the company attempted to distance itself from its political record, claiming it intedend “to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”

But despite suggestions by some that the company’s WinShape Foundation had already scaled back its anti-LGBT giving before that point, its newly released annual IRS filings for 2011 indicate nothing of the sort.

Most of the WinShape’s anti-LGBT giving in previous years went to groups like the Marriage & Family Foundation ($1,188,380 in 2010), the Fellowship Of Christian Athletes ($480,000 in 2010), and the National Christian Foundation ($247,500). Additionally, the group made small donations to the “ex-gay” group Exodus International ($1,000) and the hate group Family Research Council ($1,000).

In 2011, the group actually gave even more to anti-LGBT causes. Its contribution to the Marriage & Family Foundation jumped to $2,896,438 and it gave the same amount to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and National Christian Foundation as it had in 2010. In total, the anti-LGBT spending exceeded $3.6 million — almost double the $1.9 million from the year before.

While the group gave nothing directly to Exodus International or FRC, a large amount of Chick-fil-A/WinShape money still made its way to those groups. The National Christian Foundation (aka the National Christian Charitable Foundation) gave $4,100 to Exodus International and a stunning $1,260,040 to FRC. This was possible, in part, because of the $247,500 it received directly from WinShape and because the WinShape-backed Marriage & Family Foundation also transferred $870,834 to the group — the self-described “largest Christian grant-making foundation in the world.”

In essence, Chick-fil-A’s “charitable” contributions in 2011 were no less hateful than in 2010 — just less transparent.

Emory University is in Atlanta, Georgia, just 20 miles from the Chick-fil-A corporate headquarters. Since the full extent of Chick-fi-A’s anti-gay beliefs and giving fully came to light last summer, student leaders protested the continued presence of a franchise in the campus’s food court. In December, even the Student Government Association passed a resolution opposing Chick-fil-A. Ultimately, campus administrators issued a thoughtful statement acknowledging the stigma attached to the company, but explaining it was not grounds to cancel the contract. The students vowed not to back down, and now it seems Chick-fil-A will not be coming back to campus next year.

According to a tweet from Emory Wheel, the student newspaper, Chick-fil-A has been removed from the food court as part of its new layout. The full details for this change are not yet known, but some clues can be found in the statement originally provided by the university:

Any decision to by Sodexo [the campus dining contractor] to renew or not renew the contract with Chick-fil-A, or any other vendor, must be part of a dining vision to advance the purposes for which Emory has contracted with Sodexo. Opposing views must be acknowledged, recognizing that some differences are truly irreconcilable. [...]

Typical brand selection and replacement considerations include, but are not limited to, preferential surveys, strategic planning processes, campus master planning, sales trends, contract requirements, and brand re-imaging.

Perhaps the franchise’s sales plummeted, or perhaps it simply it no longer fit in the campus’s “master planning.” At any rate, it is a victory for LGBT students, who will no longer have to encounter a glowing symbol of anti-gay prejudice as they partake in lunch on campus.

LGBT students at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia have been campaigning against the Chick-fil-A franchise on campus because of the company’s anti-gay policies and giving. The campus community has had a thoughtful conversation about what can legally be done in the immediate, but the students continue to advocate for the chain to leave campus. Earlier this week, Campus Pride executive director Shane Windmeyer took a somewhat ambivalent position on the company’s record because of his new friendship with its president, Dan Cathy. But the students in Emory’s LGBT alumni group, GALA, and LGBT student group, Emory Pride, are unfazed by the revelation:

GALA: We believe that the ‘Dan and Me’ article by Shane Windmeyer of Campus Pride does not change the funding issue.  Winshape continues to fund anti-LGBT organizations, albeit, according to Mr. Windmeyer, less evil ones. Emory GALA continues to stand behind our previous statements and until Chick-fil-A and Winshape release a statement that they will no longer fund any anti-LGBT organizations, we will continue to push for and support the removal of Chick-fil-A from Emory University’s campus.

PRIDE: Shane Windmeyer and Dan Cathy have been very brave to sustain a respectful and trusting conversation despite knowing that both of their communities may be quick to dismiss them, and it is heartening to see that Chick-Fil-A’s WinShape institute did not contribute to the most divisive anti-LGBTQ groups in 2012. However, Shane Windmeyer does not speak for the entire LGBTQ community, nor do we. [...] Chick-Fil-A has already become a symbol of hate that causes active harm, and this symbolic meaning will not disappear because of one man becoming friends with another.

Campus Pride provides support and resources for LGBT college students and their allies, but suspended their campaign against Chick-fil-A back in September. It remains unclear to what extent Campus Pride will support students who continue to protest, like those at Emory, given this suspension and new friendship.

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy

Campus Pride executive director Shane Windmeyer revealed on the Huffington Post Monday that he and Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy are now friends. Windmeyer is gay, married, and advocates for LGBT college students, whereas Dan Cathy believes that same-sex marriage is “twisted up kind of stuff” and that those who support it are “inviting God’s judgment on our nation.” Windmeyer claims that according to tax forms he exclusively has seen, Chick-fil-A was no longer funding anti-gay groups like the Family Research Council and ex-gay umbrella group Exodus International as of 2011. Therefore, Windmeyer explains that his organization has suspended its campaign against the anti-gay chicken company — which has franchises on many university campuses — because he believes that Cathy is developing a new understanding through their friendship:

Even as Campus Pride and so many in the community protested Chick-fil-A and its funding of groups like Family Research Council, Eagle Forum and Exodus International, the funding of these groups had already stopped. Dan Cathy and Chick-fil-A could have noted this publicly earlier. Instead, they chose to be patient, to engage in private dialogue, to reach understanding, and to share proof with me when it was official. There was no “caving”; there were no “concessions.” There was, in my view, conscience.

This is why, after discussions with Dan and Chick-fil-A, Campus Pride suspended our campaign. Like Dan, we had faith. It took time to be proven publicly.

But Windmeyer fails to actually explain any concrete changes taking place at the company. The company’s donations to FRC and Exodus were piddling — no more than $1,000 in any given year — compared to the millions of dollars it apparently will continue to give to anti-gay organizations like the Marriage & Family Foundation and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Windmeyer’s arbitrary decision that this constitutes an improvement for the company cannot be substantiated until the 990 forms are publicly released. Even still, they represent the company’s giving in 2011 and bear no reflection on the public backlash it received this summer for Cathy’s anti-gay comments.

I joined a conversation with Windmeyer this afternoon on HuffPost Live, along with Jamie McGonnigal from TalkAboutEquality.com. I asked him to explain what had changed besides the end of the small donations, but he could offer no further details. Chick-fil-A is not ending the bulk of its anti-gay giving. Chick-fil-A is not implementing any LGBT-inclusive policies like nondiscrimination protections, of which it has none. And Dan Cathy is not apologizing for his vitriolic comments — in fact, he’s making no public comments of his own whatsoever. In other words, the company is doing nothing to improve its atrocious record on LGBT issues. Cathy’s opening mind for friendships with gay people is commendable, but does not justify Windmeyer’s blessing of Chick-fil-A franchises on college campuses in the face of protests from LGBT student groups.

Watch the conversation:

Students and alumni at Emory University have been actively campaigning against the presence of a Chick-fil-A in the campus’s food court, protesting the anti-gay positions of company president Dan Cathy and the anti-gay donations made by the company’s foundation. A student committee for action formed in August with messages like, “Make Chicken, Not Judgments,” and in December, the Student Government Association approved a resolution opposing Chick-fil-A’s continued relationship with the university. Before the holiday break, Ajay Nair, Emory’s senior vice president for campus life, issued a statement with the university’s reflections after months of consideration of student concerns:

For several months, senior University administrators and other members of the community have deliberated and wrestled with the ethical points and principles related to the presence of Chick-fil-A at Emory University. Our principles and conclusions are:

• Emory University has a long history of creating access, inclusion, and equity for Emory’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Public positions taken by Dan Cathy, President of Chick-fil-A, do not reflect these values of access, inclusion, and equity.
• Another value of Emory University, however, is open expression. Dan Cathy has the right to express his views freely.
• Members of the Emory community hold a variety of personal viewpoints about Dan Cathy’s public positions.
• Chick-fil-A has become a symbol of exclusion for some community members.
• Emory University will not ask Sodexo to exclude or retain Chick-fil-A on the basis of Dan Cathy’s public positions.
• Members of the community are free to express their opposition to Dan Cathy’s public positions in numerous ways, including not patronizing Chick-fil-A.
• To the best of our knowledge, Chick-fi-A does not engage in discriminatory practices against its customers or employees.
• Any decision by Sodexo to renew or not renew the contract with Chick-fil-A, or any other vendor, must be part of a dining vision to advance the purposes for which Emory has contracted with Sodexo.
• Opposing views must be acknowledged, recognizing that some differences are truly irreconcilable.

Emory has made it clear that it is not going to use Cathy’s positions or Chick-fil-A’s anti-gay giving to determine whether to maintain its contract, and yet this response spells out to students exactly how they can ensure Chick-fil-A does not return to campus in the future:

Typical brand selection and replacement considerations include, but are not limited to, preferential surveys, strategic planning processes, campus master planning, sales trends, contract requirements, and brand re-imaging. Nielsen customer preference surveys, conducted in 2008 and updated in the spring of 2012, revealed that global cuisine and flavors, health conscious offerings, and competitive market pricing are three key attributes students look for in dining options on this campus… Any brand changes in Emory Dining, which would being in the fall of 2013, will be consistent with this vision and the principles articulated above.

In other words, the university cannot fairly kick out the franchise on principle alone, but students can still have an impact on Chick-fil-A’s fate. By continuing to express displeasure and boycott, the campus community can potentially impact Chick-fil-A’s sales and ostracize it out of the master plan of Emory Dining. This sensible resolution does not directly punish the company for its anti-gay positions, but empowers the students to abandon its support, leaving little reason for the franchise to remain. It’s an important opportunity for democracy and the free market to defend progressive, inclusive values.

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy

Chick-fil-a President and COO Dan Cathy is largely responsible for the backlash against the company this summer. Though its anti-gay donations were already well documented, it was Cathy’s various public comments that spurred reaction. In addition to admitting Chick-fil-A was “guilty as charged” for opposing marriage equality, he also prayed for God’s mercy on “arrogant” LGBT activists and described homosexuality as “tragic,” “twisted up,” and resulting from a “deprived mind.” (The latter comments continue to remain under-reported.) However, Cathy was silent throughout the audacious Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day and even in last month’s dust-up in which it seemed Chick-fil-A was backing away from its positions — it wasn’t. Today, though, he spoke out for the first time since the controversy erupted to 11 Alive in Georgia, confirming that the chain’s “family values” still only apply to “Biblical families”:

CATHY: Chick-fil-A is focused on families. We’ve always been that way. We’re a family-owned business, we’re led by a family, and our restaurants are operated by families, and we serve millions of families everyday at Chick-fil-A, so we’re focused on the family. [...] Families are very important to our country. They’re very important, I think, to all of us that are concerned about being able to hang on to the heritage that we have and we’re supporting Biblical families. We’ve always been a part of that.

Watch it:

Note: This report incorrectly states that Chick-fil-A and Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno resolved their dispute, when in fact, just the opposite occurred. Cathy has clearly not backed away from any of his positions, let alone apologize for the more offensive comments he made disparaging LGBT people and their families.

Steve Cammett, 60, worked for nearly a decade at various Chick-fil-A branches and at their corporate offices, but he resigned in protest last month. He is now speaking out about the anti-gay environment nurtured by the fast food chain:

CAMMETT: It’s become a safe place for people to hate and they expect to be patted on the back for it. I don’t want to work in that kind of environment. [...]

[Customers on Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day were] putting their arms around the person, and saying, “We sure are glad that your company is taking a stand against those perverts,” and this person was gay and they didn’t know it. And I just thought, “Wow, what has happened here?” Chick-fil-A allowed a mindset to continue amongst their customers that seemed to think Chick-fil-A didn’t like homosexuals.

Cammett has also penned an open letter to the restaurant’s president, Dan Cathy, asking him to make a public statement, “declaring your love, acceptance, and support for gay and divorced people.”

Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno

Last Thursday, Chick-fil-A issued a press release clarifying that, despite rumors to the contrary, it would continue to fund organizations with anti-gay agendas. In case there were any further doubts, president and COO Dan Cathy confirmed to Mike Huckabee that the restaurant “made no such concessions” in order to obtain permission to open a new restaurant in Chicago.

Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno (D) had previously said he would block Chick-fil-A because of these donations and policies, but last week expressed optimism that the restaurant had changed. Given the new revelations, Moreno is no longer sure he feels comfortable introducing the necessary legislation for the Chicago franchise to open:

MORENO: Dan Cathy decided to make a PUBLIC statement to Mike Huckabee that, at the least, muddied the progress we had made with Chick-fil-A and, at the worst, contradicted the documents and promises Chick-fil-A made to me and the community earlier this month. Since Mr.Cathy made a PUBLIC statement, I am PUBLICLY asking him to confirm and support what I was told and shown by his company representatives. [...]

Perhaps Mr. Cathy felt that he could make these public statements to Mike Huckabee because I had provided a letter of support for his restaurant to the City of Chicago earlier this week. I provided this letter based on the progress we had made with Chick-fil-A. I still need to introduce legislation to make the Chick-fil-A in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago a reality. I will wait to see what Mr. Cathy’s next PUBLIC statement is, and reflect on that statement before moving forward with appropriate legislation.

Chick-fil-A gives millions of dollars to anti-gay organizations — including hate groups and ex-gay therapy proponents — has no protections for LGBT employees, and Cathy has described same-sex marriage as “twisted up kind of stuff” that could only be left to a “deprived mind.”

As a result of questions regarding a change in Chick-fil-A’s anti-gay giving — despite the fact it was supporting an anti-gay group this week — the chain has clarified in a new press release that nothing has changed:

A part of our corporate commitment is to be responsible stewards of all that God has entrusted to us. Because of this commitment, Chick-fil-A’s giving heritage is focused on programs that educate youth, strengthen families and enrich marriages, and support communities. We will continue to focus our giving in those areas. Our intent is not to support political or social agendas.

As we have stated, the Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators.

It is the very organizations that “strengthen families and enrich marriages” that Chick-fil-A supports that advocate against marriage equality. The restaurant may claim it does not support “political or social agendas,” but that is how the groups it supports spend its money. As for the “honor, dignity, and respect” line, this is the exact same language it issued when the controversy first broke two months ago, and does not constitute a non-discrimination protection for employees.

The company has engaged in some admirable spin to try to improve its reputation, but today’s statement makes it clear that the company is stuck in its anti-gay ways.