Apple CEO Tim Cook has donated a “substantial” amount of money to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) to help gay rights campaigners in the southern states in the US.

Tim Cook – who came out earlier this year – donated money to the Washington-based HRC to help fund a three-year campaign in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi which was launched in April.

The amount donated was not specified by the HRC, however, they stated that it was “substantial”. The campaign hopes to foster acceptance in the three southern states for the LGBT community.

“We hope Tim Cook’s substantial personal investment inspires others to support this vital and historic project,” Jason Rahlan, a spokesman for HRC, said in an email.

The total cost of the campaign is estimated at $8.5m (€6.9m).

“It’s a personal donation from Tim,” Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet added.

The campaign, Project One America is aiming to build acceptance for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the three states. It will include advertising on TV and elsewhere, direct-mail fliers and staff members hired for each state.

Just days before his wonderful coming out letter in October, Cook encouraged Alabama to be more accepting of LGBT. “Under the law, citizens of Alabama can still be fired based on their sexual orientation,” Cook said. “We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it and we can create a different future.”

HRC President Chad Griffin spoke about Cook’s donation in a blog post, “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 misperceptions and providing concrete protections for those who need it most.”

“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 misperceptions and providing concrete protections for those who need it most.”

Tim Cook became the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 1000 Company when he wrote an open letter saying he was “proud to be a gay man” in October of this year.