Chick-fil-A is ending donations criticized by LGBTQ activists after years of backlash

On Monday, Chick-fil-A announced it was making a major change to perhaps the most controversial part of the company: its charitable-giving arm.

In a press release, the company said it would "deepen its giving to a smaller number of organizations working exclusively in the areas of education, homelessness and hunger." A Chick-fil-A representative confirmed that the company would no longer donate to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army, two organizations that have been criticized by LGBTQ advocates.

"We made multiyear commitments to both organizations, and we fulfilled those obligations in 2018. Moving forward you will see that the Chick-fil-A Foundation will support the three specific initiatives of homelessness, hunger and education," the representative said in a statement to Business Insider.

Chick-fil-A had previously worked with the groups to fund specific programs — such as summer camps — that work directly with underprivileged children.