DoorDash, the nation’s largest food delivery company, has agreed to instruct its third-party gift-matching administrator to remove the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate list” as a mandatory and default screening mechanism in its employee gift-match program. The SPLC’s “hate list,” which screens out mainstream religious nonprofit organizations, is baked into screening programs throughout corporate America. But with this change, DoorDash is preserving employee choice for its gift-match program.
The change at DoorDash, which commands 56% of the U.S. food delivery market, follows shareholder negotiations led by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing IWP Capital and the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas. This marks ADF’s and its shareholder allies’ 55th policy or behavioral change promoting freedom of speech and religion at a publicly traded company in the past year. Similar steps have been taken at Mastercard, Texas Instruments, and Salesforce—all of which, like DoorDash, agreed to remove the SPLC as a default screening agent, and Nvidia, Bank of America, Verizon, and Wells Fargo, which have opened their gift-match programs to religious charities.
“Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are foundational to the fabric of our free society. Corporations should respect and protect those freedoms,” said Senior Counsel and Senior Vice President of ADF’s Counter Censorship Task Force Jeremy Tedesco. “DoorDash is committed to preserving its employees’ choice in its gift-match program, and we believe it has set an excellent example for other companies to follow. Many corporations that rely on third-party administrators like Benevity and Deed may not realize those platforms use the SPLC to screen out mainstream religious charities. That is viewpoint discrimination—and it is precisely the kind of injustice our shareholder engagement work exists to correct.”
“This is a great win for DoorDash’s employees and shareholders. Our clients see themselves as stewards of their assets, thereby seeking to build relationships with the companies they own. We’re very grateful to DoorDash for their willingness to find a solution which worked for both the company and our clients who are shareholders. We continue our year-round efforts to secure more changes like this for the shareholders we represent,” said Pia de Solenni, vice president of corporate engagement at IWP Capital.
Gift-matching programs are offered by approximately 65% of Fortune 500 companies and enable an estimated 26 million U.S. employees to amplify charitable giving. Because of the SPLC’s gatekeeping role within these programs—often unknown to companies utilizing third-party administrators like Benevity and Deed—many employees at participating companies have been unable to fully exercise that benefit.
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing at which ADF Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Ryan Bangert testified about the SPLC’s influence in corporate America—including its largely unnoticed role as a de facto gatekeeper of employee gift-matching programs. The hearing followed a federal grand jury indictment of the SPLC on charges of bank fraud involving more than $4 million in payments to white supremacist groups the SPLC publicly claims to oppose.
ADF’s shareholder engagement work is conducted in partnership with a coalition that includes Bowyer Research, Inspire Investing, IWP Capital, GuideStone, National Center for Public Policy Research, Ridgeline Research, 1792 Exchange, and The Heritage Foundation. This year, ADF supported 104 filed resolutions, resulting in 55 policy or behavioral changes at publicly traded companies.
Those changes include debanking protections at Bank of America and Truist Bank—both of which continued a trend that started with JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, PNC Bank, and Regions Bank; a Microsoft policy change ensuring that pro-life pregnancy centers and faith-based nonprofits receive equal access to nonprofit benefits; and confirmation that Meta, PNC Bank, Delta, Capital One, and Lockheed Martin no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which has maneuvered companies into supporting gender transitions for minor dependents of employees through their healthcare plans.
“Threats to free speech and religious freedom don’t just come from the government, but through powerful corporations we rely on every day,” said ADF Legal Counsel Noah Nash. “It’s essential that companies follow DoorDash’s example and take meaningful steps that respect and protect fundamental freedoms of employees, shareholders, and customers.”
