Image Credit: Nashville Pride / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A massive loss of corporate sponsorship – nearly half – has Nashville Pride sounding the alarm over whether the state’s largest Pride event will be able to take place in the future.
The LGBTQ organization said earlier this week that it needs to urgently raise a quarter of a million dollars over the course of the next seven weeks in order to continue planning for their annual Pride festival which includes a parade that is open to the public.
“Without immediate action, Nashville could lose its largest LGBTQ+ gathering and safe space,” a message on the Nashville Pride website reads.
The group has set “National Coming Out Day” on October 11th as the deadline by which the money must be collected in order to “keep Pride alive.” As of Thursday night, a little under $36,000 had been raised so far.
The organization is also petitioning for businesses and other groups to host fundraising events to benefit Nashville Pride.
The LGBTQ nonprofit says that the financial emergency brought on by the “sudden withdrawal of longtime sponsors” is due to “unprecedented anti-LGBTQ+ attacks” on gay and trans “rights” as well as their marriages and livelihoods.
On one hand, the group states that they don’t need corporations to “define Pride” but also admits that they can’t fund the festival without their money.
Nashville Pride has lost $270,000 in sponsorships from corporations since last year, amounting to 40 percent of funds. Some of the corporate sponsors pulled out of this year’s festival 30 days beforehand.
In addition, Vanderbilt University Medical Center who had promised their services in staffing a medical tent cancelled at the last minute, costing the organization an unexpected $32,000.
Security costs have also doubled, say the group.
As early as June, organizers for Nashville Pride reported having lost several longtime supporters ahead of their 2025 event.
With a “significant budget gap to fill” the board of directors called on all participants to step up by donating, volunteering, becoming a sponsor, and to “show up where others have stepped back.”
In the past, Pride has seen 150,000 in attendance. Severe weather this year deterred participants, with some 15,000 less showing up for the event. According to WKRN, Nashville Pride lost money on this year’s “queer joy, visibility and resistance” celebration.
Since President Donald Trump’s executive order at the beginning of the year which ended government support for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, organizations in Tennessee have scrubbed DEI language from their websites and budgets for DEI spending are way down.
With the dismantling of DEI departments at the corporate level, it’s no surprise that companies are choosing to shift funds away from events such as Pride.
At the state level, the Tennessee General Assembly also passed legislation earlier this year aimed at stopping DEI programs in hiring practices and also cracking down on DEI departments in governmental and public institutions.
The “Dismantle DEI in Employment Act” ensures that hiring decisions for local governments, local school districts, and public institutions of higher education be based on merit rather than on any other metric such as race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. The new law encourages hiring decisions to be based on selecting “highly qualified” candidates rather than hiring an individual to achieve DEI goals.
A second law prohibits departments, agencies, or other units of state government or political subdivisions of the state from maintaining or authorizing offices or departments that promote or require discriminatory preferences to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The pushback against DEI in the public sector has influenced the corporate world, with corporate sponsors reporting having a fraction of previous budgets to spend on DEI events.
Once used only as a means of support for aiding specific communities, the remaining dollars in these slim budgets is now being tied to how exposure at events can benefit the corporation.
And for some corporations that are still giving, they no longer want to be acknowledged for their contribution, perhaps fearing political backlash.
Conservative Tennessee activist Robby Starbuck made a considerable impact on corporate DEI policies last year, calling out donations to Pride events from companies such as Lowe’s, Jack Daniel’s, Indian Motorcycle, and Polaris.
Starbuck’s efforts also led to Harley-Davidson, John Deere, and Tractor Supply making corporate statements on how the companies would shift their policies to limit or entirely eliminate DEI altogether.
A spokesperson for Nissan, one of Nashville Pride’s past sponsors said that they stepped back from financially supporting this year’s events following a broad review of marketing and sales spending.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
GOOD!!