Organizers behind St. Louis Pride said Tuesday alcoholic beverage company Anheuser-Busch ended more than 30 years of sponsorship of its Pride celebrations, as LGBTQ organizations in New York, San Francisco and more cities say corporate support has dwindled and left them scrambling to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars.
San Francisco Pride organizers told Forbes four companies pulled back support this year. (Photo by ... More
St. Louis Pride confirmed in an Instagram post Tuesday Anheuser-Busch—which is headquartered in the city—dropped out, and “many sponsors” reduced contributions, prompting the organization to launch a grassroots fundraising campaign to replace $150,000 in lost funds.
Anheuser-Busch also ceased support for San Francisco Pride, its organizers confirmed to Forbes last week, alongside Comcast and alcoholic beverage company Diageo, which the organization said also dropped out.
San Francisco Pride executive director Suzanne Ford told SFGATE the organization lost about $300,000 in corporate funds, representing just under a tenth of its $3.2 million budget for this year’s Pride celebrations planned for June.
Chris Piedmont, media director for NYC Pride, told Forbes some corporate sponsors have scaled back budgets while others have delayed making a decision on whether to support this year’s Pride celebrations, though he did not name specific companies.
Pride Houston’s board of directors told Forbes some companies slashed financial support by as much as 75%, totaling $100,000 in corporate sponsorship cuts, which has “impacted certain areas of programming,” while other sponsors have opted to sponsor the city’s pride celebrations “without public participation” (Pride Houston declined to specify which companies walked back support).
Capital Pride Alliance, which is hosting the WorldPride festival in Washington, D.C., this year, told Forbes federal contractor Booz Allen Hamilton is the only organization that has withdrawn support, which the company told the Washington Business Journal was to ensure it complies with all laws and executive orders, likely referring to President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion across the federal government.
Forbes has reached out to other major Pride organizations across the United States for comment.
Several Pride organizations told Forbes corporate sponsors have either dropped out of, or reduced financial support for, Pride celebrations this year because of political and economic pressure—as Trump targets DEI across the federal government and corporations walk back DEI-related policies. “The current political and economic climate has had a significant impact on sponsorship levels from corporations across a variety of sectors,” Pride Houston’s board of directors told Forbes. NYC Pride’s Piedmont told Forbes the reduction in corporate support is because of the “volatile political environment.” San Francisco Pride’s Ford told SFGATE these companies backed out of supporting its 2025 Pride celebrations citing financial constraints, but Ford said she “interpreted that companies are making decisions that at this time it’s not good to be sponsoring Pride.” Multiple sponsors appeared to have been removed from NYC Pride’s sponsor webpage earlier this year, according to Internet Archive captures, including Target, which was listed as a platinum sponsor, the highest tier of sponsorship. It’s unclear whether these companies withdrew support, and Piedmont told Forbes some partner agreements for this year are still being finalized.
Days after Target announced in January it would walk back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the Minnesota-based Twin Cities Pride severed ties with Target, which had previously been a corporate sponsor. Organizers crowdfunded to raise the $50,000 it lost by splitting from Target, which it far exceeded, raising more than $103,000.
Dwindling support for Pride comes amid a wave of backlash targeting DEI across the federal government and corporate America. Many companies, including Meta, Amazon and Google, have walked back diversity goals and other DEI-related programs in recent months. Some companies also appeared to pull back on public support for Pride last year after conservative boycotts targeted various companies, including Bud Light, Target and Nike, over their outreach to the LGBTQ community.
In 'very abnormal' development, longtime sponsors bail on San Francisco Pride (SFGATE)