Seattle Pride loses big sponsors amid national pullback
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Some companies are pulling back from this month's Pride celebrations in Seattle and around the country amid a federal push to dismantle diversity initiatives.
The big picture: It's a notable shift for corporate America, which faces mounting pressure to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs — a key target of the Trump administration.
Zoom in: Several companies and organizations have not renewed their sponsorship of this month's Seattle Pride Parade, including Boeing, Mastercard, Expedia and Crystal Mountain resort, the Seattle Times reported this week.
- Elsewhere, Mastercard, Citi, Pepsi, Nissan and PwC pulled sponsorship of NYC Pride; Booz Allen Hamilton and Deloitte pulled out of WorldPride in Washington, D.C.; and Anheuser-Busch, Comcast and Diageo stopped sponsoring San Francisco Pride.
By the numbers: 39% of corporations are scaling back external Pride Month engagements this year, according to Gravity Research data.
- This is a sharp increase from last year, when only 9% said they were changing their external Pride engagement.
- 57% of companies that are federal contractors plan to reduce external engagement, highlighting the risk of federal investigations.
Zoom out: The perceived risk for engaging around LGBTQ+ issues has increased 42% since this time last year, according to GravityResearch insights shared with Axios.
- 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 they're saying: Seattle Pride, which runs the city's annual parade downtown, told Axios it has attracted about $20,000 in individual donations since March, plus support from "a growing number of small businesses."
- "This groundswell of support has reinforced a truth we've long known: the future of Pride cannot rely solely on corporate sponsorships," the organization said in a statement shared with Axios.
- PrideFest, which puts on Pride events in Capitol Hill and at Seattle Center, also has cited a decline in corporate donations, recently setting up a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of security and paying artists.
The other side: Spokespeople for Mastercard, Boeing and Crystal Mountain resort didn't immediately respond to questions from Axios on Tuesday about why they aren't returning as sponsors for the Seattle parade this year.
- The Expedia Group told the Seattle Times that they had requested to renew their sponsorship of the parade this year but were denied — something Seattle Pride disputes.
What's next: The Seattle Pride Parade will be held downtown starting at 11am Sunday, June 29, running from Westlake Park to Seattle Center.
- PrideFest events will take place June 28 at Cal Anderson Park and June 29 at Seattle Center.