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LGBTQ advocates have long allied themselves with diversity, equity and inclusion groups. Yet DEI’s legal troubles are causing some corporate sponsors to end their support for Pride activities.
Soon, Pride advocates may have legal problems of their own. That’s bad for Pride organizers, but it’s good for parents because rulings could spell out protections for parents and children from explicit sexual material in schools.
An April survey of corporate executives found that 39% of respondents “plan to reduce Pride-related engagement in 2025,” with 61% of these business leaders citing “pressure” from the White House as the primary reason for dropping support.
Some Pride organizations are reeling: Businesses such as Mastercard, Pepsi, Comcast and more did not contribute to Pride events—in fact, San Francisco’s Pride organizations saw fundraising fall by $200,000. New York City’s Pride fundraising dropped by 20%, while Salt Lake City’s Pride fundraising is down by nearly half a million dollars.
Companies were more interested in supporting Pride events and their DEI partners when federal officials allowed DEI offices in corporations and on university campuses to skirt civil rights laws.
According to Forbes, corporate fundraising for DEI “peaked” between 2016 and 2022, which happened to cover much of President Joe Biden’s administration. That administration did not call companies, universities and other organizations to account for DEI activities that may have violated the Civil Rights Act, such as racial favoritism in hiring.