Anti-DEI Push Leads to Shortfall in Corporate Funding at Charlotte Pride

Donald Trump’s objective to eradicate any and all initiatives that push for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) across the country has been well documented — a point of pride for him, in fact — since he took office for the second time in January.

It was on the first day of Trump’s second term that he signed an executive order ending the so-called “forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs” associated with DEI, stating: “Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great.”

The order banned all DEI programs across the government and withdrew federal funding from countless DEI initiatives countrywide.

The administration has not slowed down. A July 29 U.S. Department of Justice memo asked all federal funding recipients to proactively ban any DEI programs that were still active, laying out specific “unlawful” practices that could result in revocation of said funding. Examples include race-based scholarships and prioritizing underrepresented groups in hiring practices.

These anti-DEI policies and intimidation tactics have had ripple effects that have reached organizations big and small in the Queen City, from institutions like UNC Charlotte to smaller groups working to make a more equitable world.

Time Out Youth (TOY), Charlotte’s LGBTQ+ youth community center, kicked off Pride Month by urging community members to step up as corporations have begun distancing themselves from the nonprofit.

“Time Out Youth has always been a place that shows up for queer and trans young people, no matter who’s in office, and no matter how ‘uncomfortable’ their very existence makes certain boardrooms in Charlotte and across the country feel,” a release from the organization read. “For nearly 35 years and six presidencies, we have been here. And we aren’t going anywhere.”

The same companies that once claimed DEI as a core value have dropped their support for Time Out Youth, leaving a $175,000 hole in TOY’s budget as the number of youth seeking help continues to rise.

In the first five months of 2025, TOY saw a 44% increase in sign-ins for its Drop-In Space, a safe and affirming place for youth ages 13-24, compared to the same span in 2024.

Read More: Advocacy Organizations Brace for Second Trump Administration

As the lack of funding impacts year-round organizations, queer and trans folks across the country look forward to the time of year they’re able to publicly celebrate themselves at Pride parades and festivities.

Now, those parades are at risk, too.

New York Pride, the largest Pride event in North America, saw nearly a quarter of its corporate partners either cancel or reduce their support this year out of fear related to both economic uncertainty and potential retribution from the Trump administration, The New York Times reported.

As Charlotte Pride celebrates its 25th anniversary and Charlotte Black Pride its 20th, those organizations are dealing with the same blowback on a local level, leading the groups to consider other financial avenues in the future.

Charlotte Pride and Charlotte Black Pride feel the strain

Although Charlotte Pride’s funding comes from corporate partners that are headquartered in the city rather than national nonprofits, the organization is still facing a deficit in funds compared to years prior, managing director Meredith Thompson told Queen City Nerve.

Some corporate partners have reduced their funding or pulled out altogether. Thompson said she has spoken with corporate sponsors who are now expressing fear from fallout that could come from their logo being photographed at a Pride event and used against them by right-wing supporters.

Right-wing media outlets and influencers often post out-of-context pictures to social media pages to garner backlash against certain corporations, slanting photos to make it seem like the companies are supporting something nefarious when they’re not, she told Queen City Nerve.

“[Corporations] have a lot to counteract and navigate [the backlash], and they don’t want that headache,” Thompson said. “They don’t want to take that risk of negative publicity.”

That is why some corporations have taken to funding Pride organizations silently, acting as anonymous donors with the understanding that they won’t be named, she explained.

“It worries me for the future, number one, because what we’re selling to them is exposure to a quarter-million people, we’re selling them marketing value on so many levels,” she said. “So when a corporation says, ‘I don’t want to align my logo with yours, I don’t want public alignment, I don’t want that visibility,’ it’s rather strange, right?”

Thompson understands that some corporate partners don’t want to deal with a media storm or controversy that they have to pivot resources to fix, but she’s still frustrated that Charlotte Pride must exhaust itself by fighting disinformation and attacks against the queer community.

Charlotte Black Pride (CBP) is doubly affected by corporate partner’s aversion to DEI initiatives. Chair Shann Fulton said the organization has seen its sponsorship funding cut in half this year.

Leaders within the organization have even had to turn away some sponsorships because of the stipulations companies wanted to place on any agreement, including removing any words related to “queer” or “LGBTQIA” from promotional materials.

CBP is welcoming of corporate funding, Fulton emphasized, but some companies had to get rid of their DEI initiatives to be able to receive the funding they are trying to put back into CBP.

“So, it’s like, you expect for us to do the same thing? To act like we’re not supporting the queer community or the Black community or anything that anyone in … white corporate America would deem as DEI?” Fulton dubiously asked.

Read More: UNC Charlotte Sees LGBTQ Research Grant Terminated

This year, Charlotte Black Pride celebrated its 20th anniversary, holding a week of events in mid-July. Fulton said that companies that CBP has relied on for as many as 15 years are no longer willing to support.

Even before the loss of sponsorships, CBP has been historically underfunded compared to Charlotte Pride. If CBP was to receive $5,000 from one corporation, Charlotte Pride may be getting $30,000 from that same company, Fulton said.

Besides the elephant in the room — it is Charlotte Black Pride, after all — Fulton said the one legitimate reason that corporations favor Charlotte Pride over CBP is due to the brand visibility and promotion they get in return for their money.

In 2024, Charlotte Pride brought in an estimated 260,000 people for its parade and weekend festivities. Charlotte Black Pride’s seven-day event welcomed roughly 52,000 people in the same year.

What companies don’t consider, however, is that CBP could be as big as Charlotte Pride with the proper funding, Fulton insisted.

”I would say [even] if we had half the money, because [with] the amount that we get, which is minimal compared to other large Prides, we still find a way to put on events for four or five days a week,” they said.

Though it’s been challenging, the lack of funding for CBP and reduction for Charlotte Pride has allowed the organizations to consider diversifying their support network.

Relying on small businesses

When Charlotte Pride felt the effects of corporate pullout, local businesses like Sidelines Sports Bar and Bar Argon stepped up and contributed nearly as much as the organization’s largest sponsor, Thompson said.

The generosity of the local community led her to wonder if offering small sponsorship packages to local businesses in addition to corporate partners could be an option they explore further in the future.

“We look at … some different avenues we could take so we’re not quite as dependent on corporate partners who may be subject to political whims or beholden to public opinion,” she said.

Charlotte Pride renegotiates corporate partner contracts every year, which subjects the organization to changes in the political climate such as the increasingly aggressive Trump administration policies as well as changes in the economy.

The reality of corporate “rainbow washing” — a performative form of allyship in which corporations feign support for the LGBTQ+ community while engaging in no meaningful actions — has also been a talking point among the queer community for years.

Though it’s beneficial for corporations to donate to Pride organizations, their business relies on getting something back.

Read More: 5 Things to Know: AAUP Defends UNC Charlotte Staffer Fired for DEI Conversation

While economic uncertainty remains an everlasting threat and small businesses can’t always offer the support that a corporation can, partnering with local LGBTQ and ally businesses ensures a consistent and more community-driven means of social and economic backing.

The future of small business partnerships is a bright one, but it does not diminish the role of corporate individuals who fought for funding designations within their companies.

Thompson’s relationship with Charlotte Pride’s corporate supporters are primarily with the company’s LGBTQ employee resource group. Now that corporations have begun pivoting away from DEI initiatives or generalizing all minority groups into one, it’s becoming more rare for a company to even have such a resource group.

Small businesses built off of large corporations could also be unlikely donors. One of CBP’s sponsors is a local State Farm representative acting as an independent business owner, Fulton said.

“I don’t know how this is going to continue to play out, if things are going to get even harder,” Thompson said. “Hopefully we will get over this and move forward on a better path next year.”

Charlotte Pride strives on

No matter the outside influences, Charlotte Pride and Charlotte Black Pride continue to support one another.

While CBP’s event week has already passed, Fulton is thankful to Charlotte Pride for giving CBP its own “Black on Purpose” stage during its own coming festivities, allowing the organization to curate its own entertainment for a second straight year.

Last year’s stage brought a packed crowd, monopolizing the entire street the stage was on. This year will be bigger and better, Fulton promised.

Despite the funding deficit, Charlotte Pride was still able to secure a venue upgrade, this year stretching from Tryon Street to First Ward Park to accommodate the demand for more vendor and visitor space.

The Pride Festival will be held in First Ward Park while the parade route will remain along Tryon Street in Uptown from Aug. 16-17.

“I feel like, no matter what, we will always have Pride,” Thompson said. “It’ll exist in some form or fashion because … there’s always going to be that desire for it and that support for it … It started as a protest, right?”

Fulton ended with a call to action for corporations to ensure a diverse representation of folks sit on their boards despite how any presidential administration may try to bully them into compliance.

“Even if you don’t have a DEI initiative, it’s basically just [about] having good morale to make sure that the people that work for you, the people that live in Charlotte and surrounding areas, that all demographics are represented.

”Because if you have a board that’s colorful or that’s diverse, then more than likely the things that you represent, the things that you support, are going to represent each person on that board [and] no one will feel left out,” they added. “It’s possible.”

Visit charlottepride.org to learn more about Charlotte Pride or pick up our latest Pride Guide 2025, on racks now.