New York’s annual pride parade, the highest-profile annual LGBTQI+ gathering in the U.S., is looking for individual cash donations as corporate sponsors flee the event.
Organizers blame President Donald Trump’s rejection of woke diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in government for having spread to the private sector.
NYC Pride’s spokesman Kevin Kilbride confirmed the parade will be held on June 29, and according to organizers could draw as many as two million attendees, but cash is needed now as up to 25 percent of previous corporate donors have reportedly canceled or scaled back their support.
New Yorkers celebrate during the annual Pride March into the West Village on June 30, 2024 in New York City. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
“That gap we’re trying to fill with a community fundraising campaign. So in the middle of May, we launched a peer-to-peer campaign so folks can start their own fundraiser online, share it with their friends, and then have folks donate to that,” he said.
The group was “wanting to lean a little bit more into individual giving and support from the community,” he said.
AFP reports one of the most prominent brands that reportedly changed its once high-profile involvement with pride was discount department store Target.
For a time, Target was reportedly asking to forgo publicity and donate to New York Pride silently. Now it has reinstated its float at the parade, according to Kilbride.
The AFP report notes the retailer has come under fire and seen its share price dip after a boycott was organized online in response to it curtailing diversity programs, citing “the evolving external landscape.”
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