Culture and Social Issues

Companies Backing Out Of Supporting Several Major Gay Pride Events Amid Trump’s DEI Crackdown

Pax Ahimsa Gethen/Wikimedia Commons

Numerous companies are reportedly reducing their support for several major gay pride events across the U.S. and Canada in recent weeks.

Several pride organizations are falling behind on their funding goals after some companies have begun to either scale back their support or fully pull sponsorships, The New York Times reported Wednesday. Other organizations have been grappling with fundraising shortfalls in recent weeks amid longtime corporate sponsors backpedaling their support, including San Francisco Pride, which has been scrambling for alternative methods to raise $300,000.

The report comes as many American corporations ditch diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts amid the Trump administration’s massive push to eliminate DEI programs across the nation. A multitude of major U.S. companies have backed away from their DEI efforts over the past year after facing public scrutiny from customers and shareholders.

Companies such as Booz Allen Hamilton have recently withdrawn sponsorships for Washington, D.C.’s WorldPride event, according to the NYT. Andi Otto, executive director of Twin Cities Pride, told the outlet that some long-standing sponsors were not responding to his calls and emails, adding that his nonprofit was roughly $200,000 behind on its funding goal.

“Booz Allen Hamilton is the only organization that has withdrawn its committed financial support of WorldPride,” a Capital Pride Alliance spokesperson told the DCNF. “The Capital Pride Alliance is proud of its many longstanding legacy sponsors, many of whom have already reaffirmed their commitments to participate in WorldPride this summer.”

“Just like many companies and LGBTQ+ organizations, we are navigating current challenges and many unknowns,” the spokesperson added. “We are confident, however, that we will have the support necessary to have a successful and safe WorldPride that meets this moment. That support includes individuals, families, organizations and businesses from across our community, and corporations that truly celebrate diversity and value equity and inclusion for all. Many in our community are extremely vulnerable right now, and standing up for them, with those who stand with us, in this moment is what we all need.”

Twin Cities Pride and Booz Allen Hamilton did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

Wes Shaver, president of Milwaukee Pride, told the NYT that several corporations he has spoken with are concerned that they will face repercussions if the Trump administration classifies sponsoring Pride events as a DEI effort.

“There’s a lot of fear of repercussions for aligning with our festival,” Shaver told the NYT. “Everyone’s afraid.”

Milwaukee Pride did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Jeff Ryder, president of Hampton Roads Pride in Norfolk, Va., told the NYT that some of the event’s sponsors have either scaled back their donations or have postponed decisions.

“We have not seen major sponsors pulling out the way that San Francisco Pride and some other large pride celebrations have, but we have seen a great deal of uncertainty,” Ryder said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “A few sponsors have reduced their contributions or declined to support this year and several have delayed committing due to uncertainty within their organizations.”

“This uncertainty revolves around their federal funding, DEI policies, and other things that are rapidly changing in 2025,” Ryder added. “Not knowing how much financial support we will receive makes it challenging to plan our events. We have been heartened to see a few new sponsors step up, but at this time we expect our overall revenue to decrease from 2024, which makes it more difficult to plan our events that are free and open to the public. We are deeply grateful to the sponsors and individual donors who continue to support us.”

Notably, companies affiliated with the U.S. have recently begun pulling out or scaling back from donating to Pride Toronto, leaving it short of more than $300,000 out of a total budget of about $5.6 million, according to the outlet.

Pride Toronto did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

John Paul Rollert, an adjunct associate professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, told the NYT that many pride organizations are concerned “that they will be subject to heightened scrutiny and perhaps even reprisal” by the Trump administration if they support DEI initiatives.

President Donald Trump has been spearheading a massive push to eliminate diversity efforts in the federal government, including signing a Jan. 20 executive order abolishing DEI programs and preferencing at federal agencies, referring to such programs as “radical and wasteful.”