Apple CEO Tim Cook Donates Big Bucks to HRC

Having come out publicly back in October, Apple's CEO Tim Cook, the only openly gay Fortune 500 CEO, has decided to give back in the grandest of ways.

Cook has donated an undisclosed amount to the Human Rights Campaign's Project One America, an $8.5 million effort that focuses on advancing LGBT rights in Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

"Thanks to his generous personal financial investment in the program, together we will move the needle forward at the local and state level, tearing down misconceptions and providing concrete protections for those who need it most," HRC president Chad Griffin wrote in a blog post announcing the donation last week.

Cook, who grew up in southern Alabama and attended Auburn University, has previously said his home state was moving "too slow on equality for the LGBT community." A bill to prohibit discrimination against LGBT Alabamians will likely be named after Cook when it is introduced in the legislature by state representative Patricia Todd next year.

CORRECTION: The article previously stated that Cook donated $8.5 million to the Human Rights Campaign's Project One America.