JPMorgan Chase NOM Ineligible for Charity Contest

Chase Community Giving, a Facebook-centered initiative that allows users to vote on how JP Morgan Chase should disburse $5 million to nonprofits, lists the National Organization for Marriage's Education Fund among some 650,000-and-counting eligible groups in the contest, as first reported by Queerty.

But a Chase spokesman asserted late Thursday that the antigay group headed by Maggie Gallagher is not eligible for charitable funds -- even if it garnered sufficient votes -- because it violates the contest's nondiscrimination rules. The database of groups was generated by GuideStar, a third-party firm that provides research on nonprofit groups.

"Organizations that receive votes from the guidestar database will be reviewed to make sure that they're in the compliance with all of our guidelines," Joe Evangelisti, head of media relations for JP Morgan Chase, told The Advocate.

According to NOM's website, its education fund "represents another aspect of NOM's overall effort to protect marriage, engaged solely in pro-marriage education and research, making information resources available to clergy, scholars, political leaders, and activists across the country."