Pride Month used to be a staple on the marketing calendar. Brands would make rainbow versions of their logos, roll out audacious campaigns, and loudly participate in Pride celebrations—sometimes so enthusiastically that they’d face accusations of pinkwashing or rainbow-washing.

How quickly things can change.

In the last couple of years, corporate support for Pride Month has gone from loud and proud to barely a whisper, following pushback from right-wing activists and the actions by President Donald Trump early in his second term to discourage companies’ diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Those actions had a direct effect on NYC Pride, which attracts millions of attendees and is generally considered to be the largest pride event in the world. “Last year was a tough year for us,” Im Lynde, executive director of NYC Pride, told Marketing Brew. “When the administration told our corporate supporters that they should not support any DEIA initiatives, any woke initiatives, any LGBTQIA+ initiatives, we lost more than $750,000 of our usual support last year. So that was rough.”

This year, the nonprofit anticipated that corporate sponsorship support would still be down, which meant a “more conservative estimate” of its budget, cutting back on more expenses so that it could continue putting on the Pride March, PrideFest, and Youth Pride events, Lynde explained.

“We are funding joy,” Lynde said. “We’re funding this celebration. Even though we are still protesting, and we’re angry about what’s happening in the world, we can still be angry on Pride, but we also are showing resistance that we will always be here. We will continue the fight.”

Budget reduction

The nonprofit, which has just seven full-time staffers, anticipates that the organization’s full-year budget, which includes funding for this year’s celebrations that will take place June 27 and 28 and are expected to draw some 2.5 million attendees, will be around $3.2 million. That’s down from last year’s FY budget of $3.8 million and 2024’s $4.1 million budget.

The sponsors that NYC Pride lost last year, which Lynde declined to name due to ongoing discussions with them, either have not returned or did not return to the same degree of previous support this year, he told us. That’s why the nonprofit, which is still fundraising, budgeted for roughly $600,000 less than last year’s spend for this year’s celebration.

So far this year, NYC Pride has “just shy of 90” corporate sponsors, Lynde said, noting that those aren’t all major corporations, as the nonprofit counts local and regional businesses in that number.

“It costs $3 million to put on Pride every year, and we fundraise for that,” Lynde said, noting that 90% comes from corporate support. “$169 million gets injected into the New York City economy just that weekend alone from visitors, so we are definitely benefiting the city…we don’t see a single penny from that.”

Last year, NYC Pride was able to make up some of the budget gap after the corporate pullback with support from “local mom-and-pop stores that are LGBTQ-owned and operated,” as well as with individual giving, Lynde said. That support has continued this year.

“Funding joy”

NYC Pride isn’t alone in dealing with a loss of corporate support this year; other cities like Salt Lake City, Louisville, St. Louis, Orlando, and Pittsburgh are also grappling with pullbacks, according to NPR. Some Pride celebrations, including festivities in Long Beach, California, and Arlington, Texas, have been canceled. However, San Francisco Pride has seen some corporate sponsors returning this year, HR Brew reported.

Despite the reduction in support from some corporate sponsors, NYC Pride is “hopeful that the employees that have stuck with us still continue to partner,” Lynde said, adding that he’s heard feedback from corporations’ queer employees that they’ve been urging their employers to continue to support Pride.

“I think they understand [the stakes],” he said. “Can you imagine if there was no more New York City Pride? The queen of all Prides has to pause, to cancel, to pull the plug temporarily for a year? We can’t let that happen.”

For corporations that want to support NYC Pride but fear public backlash, Lynde said it’s possible to do so without public recognition as a “silent partner.” NYC Pride is also looking for more in-kind donations, like food and water or hotel rooms for volunteers—which has been particularly challenging, since Pride will overlap with World Cup matches in the New York area.

“It’s gonna be a party that weekend,” Lynde said.