Major corporate sponsors drop support for Denver Pride
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Major corporations are walking back their support for Denver Pride as part of a national retreat from events promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
Why it matters: This is a major pivot for once-proud corporate America and puts at risk critical services for LGBTQ+ individuals in Denver.
State of play: Denver Pride is the largest annual fundraiser for The Center on Colfax, a nonprofit that offers free mental health support and programs for transgender and gender-diverse individuals in the community.
- In April, the center reported a $230,000 decrease in sponsorship for its two-day Pride event that features a festival, 5K and parade.
- New sponsors are helping fill the gap, but spokesperson Ashley Schoenbauer tells us fundraising still lags previous years.
The intrigue: The center declined to name the sponsors it lost, but its website shows top-level donors decreased from 16 to 11 this year.
- Nissan, Target, Verizon and Walmart are among the names that no longer appear on the sponsor website for Denver Pride, an Axios Denver review found.
- Other big names decreased their level of giving, such as Starbucks, JPMorganChase and Cupcake wines.
Between the lines: The reasoning varies, Schoenbauer tells us, including shifting budget priorities and economic concerns. But the rollback of DEI initiatives is a key factor.
- One top-level sponsor standing firm is Molson Coors. The beverage company received blowback in 2023 for its sponsorship at a time when other big brands were pulling back from supporting the LGBTQ community.
The big picture: 39% of corporations are limiting external Pride Month engagements this year, according to Gravity Research data.
- Roughly 6 in 10 companies cite the Trump administration as the top reason for this change, while conservative activists come in second, and conservative policymakers come in third, per Gravity Research.
- This is a sharp increase from last year, when only 9% said they were changing their external Pride engagement.