United Parcel Service Inc. will not give future funding to the Boy Scouts of America until gay Scouts and leaders are allowed in the organization, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLADD) reported Monday.
Atlanta-based UPS (NYSE: UPS) gave $150,000 to the Boy Scouts in 2010.
Eagle Scout Zach Wahls, founder of Scouts for Equality, began a campaign on Change.org to pressure Boy Scout corporate donors just after Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) halted its support for BSA.
“UPS showed true bravery today in standing with the 80,000 Americans, including thousands of Scouts and Scout leaders, who oppose the Boy Scouts’ hurtful anti-gay policy,” Wahls said in a statement. “That bravery is what Scouting is all about,. Corporate America gets it better than most: policies that discriminate aren’t simply wrong, they’re bad for business and they’re hurting the Scouting community.”
GLAAD said UPS told it that under revised guidelines, organizations that are unable to attest to having a policy or practices that align with The UPS Foundation’s non-discrimination policy will no longer be considered eligible for funding.
UPS confirmed to Atlanta Business Chronicle the policy change refers only to new grant requests and there are no current pending requests from the Boy Scouts. The halting of funding is not retroactive, the shipping giant emphasized.
Read more: Atlanta Business Chronicle
