Twin Cities Pride faces $700K drop in corporate sponsorships, leans on grants and small donors
Twin Cities Pride still short of funding
Twin Cities Pride has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars since losing some corporate sponsorships, but they are still short on funds. FOX 9's Leon Purvis has more.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - June is Pride Month and one of the nation's biggest pride festivals is just two weeks away. Twin Cities Pride is facing some fundraising challenges this year after losing more than a dozen corporate sponsorships.
TC Pride receives $700k less in corporate sponsorships
What we know:
TC Pride has received more than $600,000 in sponsorships so far this year, which is significantly less than the $1.3 million in sponsorships the group received in 2024.
The backstory:
The funding issues for TC Pride started in January when they rejected Target's sponsorship after its DEI rollbacks.
In total, they lost 15 corporate sponsors. Those sponsors either pulled out or didn’t return phone calls from TC Pride. Its goal is to raise $1.5 million for 2025. Right now they’re $25,000 short.
What they're saying:
Executive Director Andi Otto says the Pride Festival was always going to happen in full. The question that remains about year-round resources.
"I get asked a lot of times, well, will pride look differently with the funding gaps? The answer is, No, it won't. But where it does impact is our year-round programming, when we're able to do things like our rainbow wardrobe and provide free gender-affirming clothing," said Otto.
TC Pride raises nearly $900k through foundations, grants and individuals
A lot of this year’s funding came from foundations, grants, and individuals. If you’re doing the math at home, that’s nearly $900,000 raised.
Otto says small businesses are stepping up to meet some of that funding lost from corporate sponsors. Last year, small businesses chipped in $25,000. This year they’re at about $93,000.
"Becoming Together Therapy and Wellness, they've been a $2,000 sponsor of mine. And the owner called and said, Ando, we're going to make it happen. We're going to go up to 10 this year. We'll figure it out," said Otto.
What's next:
The deadline for fundraising is festival weekend, June 27-29. Even if they don't hit that goal by the end of the month, it won’t impact the Pride Festival. Any money that comes in now will go towards year-round programming.