Scoop: Corporations pull sponsorships from Virginia's largest Pride event
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Pridefest at Midtown Green, formerly Bon Secours Training Center. Photo: Courtesy of Michael Hostetler.
Two corporate sponsors have pulled out of Pridefest, the largest LGBTQ+ celebration in Virginia, organizers tell Axios.
The big picture: It's part of a nationwide pivot for corporate America in which many companies that previously embraced Pride are walking back support following President Trump's crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Threat level: "We're at a point now, if more pulled out, it's going to make a big difference," James Millner, the director of Virginia Pride, tells Axios.
- "This is the first time — and this is my 11th year doing this — where I really had this feeling of constant uncertainty about what was going to happen."
State of play: Corporate sponsors account for about half of the funding for Pridefest, which has been a Richmond fixture for nearly 50 years and hosted by Virginia Pride since 2007.
- The free festival, scheduled for September at Midtown Green instead of June, regularly brings tens of thousands of people to the city.
- And it usually has over 30 sponsors to help cover the $300,000 to $400,000 in estimated costs, Millner says. Sponsorship packages range from $2,500 to more than $30,000.
Zoom in: Millner declined to name the companies out of respect for the yearslong relationships built, the need to offer grace "in this moment," and because conversations with sponsors are still ongoing.
- But he tells Axios that the sponsors that pulled out shared they had to because of changes in their company's DEI policies or due to pressure following Trump's anti-DEI orders.
- Other sponsors are reducing their funding to Pridefest because they're also supporting WorldPride in D.C. in June.
By the numbers: Nationwide, 39% of corporations are scaling back external Pride Month engagements this year, according to Gravity Research data, reports Axios' Eleanor Hawkins.
- This is a sharp increase from last year, when only 9% said they were changing their external Pride engagement.
- Roughly 6 in 10 companies cite the Trump administration as the top reason for this change, while conservative activists and conservative policymakers come in second and third, per Gravity Research.
What we're watching: While organizers are planning to ramp up security this year, Millner says they'll have to "make some big adjustments" if more sponsors drop out.
- That could include further reducing the entertainment budget and the scope of decorations, signage, marketing and more.
- Virginia Pride is still waiting on commitments from some "fairly large" supporters, Millner says.