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Seattle Pride faces budget shortfall as corporate sponsorships dwindle amid anti-DEI shift
By Alexander Hall
Published April 25, 2025
Seattle Pride reportedly faces an uncertain future as corporations turn away from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
In recent years, Pride parades have been funded by major corporations, but the shift against DEI and identity-politics across American business and culture is reportedly beginning to take its toll.
Seattle Pride, centered in one of the most famous left-leaning bastions on the West Coast, reportedly faces a shortfall of nearly $350,000, which, according to Seattle-based KOMO news is "attributed to recent rollbacks in initiatives and political challenges facing the LGBTQIA2S+ community."
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Seattle Pride Executive Director Patti Hearn spoke to the news outlet about how the changing cultural and economic landscape may shift the onus of supporting Pride events from businesses to grassroots organizations and the community.
Scenes from the Seattle Pride Parade, Sunday, June 25, 2017. (Photo by Genna Martin/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO PRIDE TAKES FINANCIAL HIT AFTER MAJOR COMPANIES PULL SPONSORSHIPS AMID DEI FALLOUT
"We have seen shifts in corporate sponsorship as companies assess their budgets and priorities, and some sponsors have not yet renewed their commitments this year," Hearn said. "We are still in conversations with many of them — it’s important to us that we partner with organizations that demonstrate genuine and sustained support for the LGBTQIA2S+ community year-round. This is especially imperative as our community faces ongoing political attacks."
Hearn added further that "We know that relying on corporate sponsorships is not the future of Pride. The future is community. That's why we're leaning into grassroots partnerships and radical mutual aid."
The organization reportedly said that this financial gap threatens the very core of Seattle Pride celebrations, including the annual Seattle Pride Parade itself.
According to The Seattle Times, "Hearn said the retreat in financial commitments by major corporate sponsors is a sign big-name companies may be following the lead of the Trump administration, which has launched a sweeping campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender people."
"It’s a really rough world for queer people," Hearn told The Seattle Times, "and this just feels like it’s part of that package."
Hearn declined to name which corporations have neglected to renew their donations to the annual event so far, claiming her team is "still in some conversation" with some of them.
DEATH OF DEI IS A MASSIVE REMINDER THERE ARE BETTER WAYS TO RUN A BUSINESS
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 13: The Space Needle stands over the Seattle skyline as Mt. Rainier is seen in the background on March 13, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
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"Typically, we’d have a lot more companies who’d sign on the dotted line much earlier than the deadline," Hearn told The Seattle Times. "What we’re seeing is a bit of uncertainty."
Harn told the news outlet that while the shortfall will not impact this year’s festivities, the ones in 2026 could look very different unless the situation changes. She added further that the organization is soliciting individual donations and grants and will start regularly hosting events to raise funds.
Fox News Digital reached out to Seattle Pride and did not receive an immediate reply.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/seattle-pride-faces-budget-shortfall-corporate-sponsorships-dwindle-amid-anti-dei-shift