Phoenix Pride files for bankruptcy as groups feel the pinch nationwide
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Pride flags hang from the Arizona State Capitol Executive Office tower in 2024. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
Phoenix Pride is the latest domino to fall in a nationwide trend of LGBT organizations facing financial hardships.
Why it matters: Pride groups and the celebrations they organize — June is Pride Month — are a source of inclusion and belonging for LBGT community members.
The big picture: Corporate financial support for Pride has receded over the past couple years, which advocates attribute to an anti-LGBT and anti-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion atmosphere fostered by the Trump administration.
The latest: Phoenix Pride filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court last Thursday.
- In a press statement, the group cited "rising operational costs, economic uncertainty, shifts in sponsorship and fundraising partly due to the current political climate and administration, and increasing demands on nonprofit organizations."
- Court records show the organization owes $432,000 to creditors, including $418,000 to Chandler-based Pride Group LLC, which sued Phoenix Pride in March alleging an unpaid debt from event management services provided for last year's Phoenix Pride Festival, per KJZZ.
What they're saying: Phoenix Pride isn't closing and its mission hasn't changed, the group said, and the bankruptcy filing will allow it to reorganize its finances while continuing operations and determining a path forward.
- The group didn't specifically address this year's Phoenix Pride Festival but said "events, programs, partnerships, and community work will continue as we move through this process."
Catch up quick: Tucson Pride in January announced that it was shutting down after nearly 50 years.
- The group struggled with financial issues for years, Arizona Luminaria reported.
- Founded in 1977, it was the third-oldest Pride organization in the U.S.
Though it's Pride Month, Phoenix's Pride Festival isn't until October, a local concession to Arizona's intense summer heat.
- Tucson Pride canceled its festival that was scheduled for February.
- "With all those DEI cuts and those funding cuts, it's a trickle-down effect, right?" Phoenix Pride executive director Mike Fornelli told Arizona's Family after the Tucson announcement.
Zoom out: Phoenix and Tucson are hardly alone — Pride groups across the country are struggling financially and scaling back activities.
- Organizers in New York City, Salt Lake City, Louisville, St. Louis, Orlando and Pittsburgh told NPR they're coping with decreased corporate sponsorship.
- This year's festival in Jackson, Michigan, was canceled last week after nearly half of the Jackson Pride Center's board resigned, leaving it strapped for cash.
Groups outside the U.S. are feeling the pinch as well, including in Canada and the U.K.