From Ally to Absent: Where Did All the Pride Month Corporate Sponsors Go?

Corporate Pride partnerships are cooling off, and the trend is alarming. In 2025, there was a noticeable drop in corporate sponsorships for Pride celebrations nationwide, and the LGBTQIA+ community is sounding the alarm. Organizers report that once-solid sponsors have pulled back from June’s rainbow-soaked celebrations, leaving festivals scrambling to fill six-figure funding gaps. This trend marks a sharp departure from past years, when corporate logos dotted every banner and float.

Now, a mix of political headwinds and economic worries has pushed many companies to rethink — or withdraw entirely — their Pride support.

Why are corporate Pride sponsorships ending? 

Organizers point to a hostile political climate as the main driver. Since the Trump administration returned to the White House, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs have faced heightened scrutiny. As a result, businesses fear backlash if they publicly support LGBTQIA+ causes. San Francisco Pride executive director Suzanne Ford told the San Francisco Chronicle that many companies are quietly backing Pride, but asking not to be named. She further revealed that their organization is facing a $180,000 shortfall against a $2.3 million budget. Ford confirmed that Anheuser-Busch, Comcast, Diageo, Nissan, and PepsiCo told S.F. Pride they wouldn’t return this year.

“If we, somehow, in these next 10 days, can find another $175,000, and people show up on Pride Sunday, and our beverage program does well and our donations increase at the gate, we might get through this difficult period,” Ford said. 

Major brands have quietly scaled back or walked away altogether. CNBC found that Seattle Pride lost roughly $75,000 in sponsorships — about a third of its corporate funding — while New York City Pride and San Francisco Pride each face cuts in the mid-six figures. Meanwhile, Target trimmed its in-store Pride merchandise after staff faced threats, limiting full collections to online-only sales, according to CBS News.

Economic uncertainty adds another layer of risk. Inflation remains stubbornly high, and consumers are feeling uneasy. As a result, companies claim they don’t have the budget flexibility to fund major Pride events. According to Byron Green-Calisch, president of St. Pete Pride in Tampa, many businesses are delaying sponsorship talks until spring. That’s months later than the usual January commitments, according to CNBC.

Will Pride ever return to its pre-Trump glory days?

Organizers had a tougher time planning Pride events around the country in 2025, but they were not deterred. Delta Air Lines and other companies have maintained or even boosted support, according to CNBC. Meanwhile, some organizers are refusing to take money from companies whose values do not align with the LGBTQIA+ community. Cincinnati Pride development director Jake Hitch said they turned down sponsorship from previous event partners. 

“With everything happening politically and in 2025 that is consistently coming against our community, we thought, what better time to really reset our expectations and align with our community on what they want to see?” Hitch said.

Unfortunately, anti-LGBTQIA+ policies enacted by the Trump administration will worsen the problem in the meantime. The federal push included scrubbing “LGBTQ” and HIV resources from WhiteHouse.gov and other agency sites. It also involved executive orders that rolled back workplace nondiscrimination protections and targeted trans rights. These moves signaled to companies that public Pride support could draw direct criticism from the White House.

Do you think companies should still be considered allies if they only support Pride when it’s convenient? Comment below!