Several corporate sponsors have dropped out of this year's San Francisco Pride parade and celebration, but the leader of the nonprofit vows the free event will go on as usual. SF Pride's executive director also acknowledged that she hasn't yet talked to several tech companies that so far haven't signed up to be sponsors.
Comcast; Anheuser-Busch; Diageo, an alcoholic beverage company that makes popular brands such as Johnny Walker; and wine company La Crema have all dropped their sponsorships, SF Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford confirmed to the Bay Area Reporter in a March 17 phone call. That represents about $300,000 in lost revenue for SF Pride, said Ford, who is a transgender woman. (KTVU-TV had reported on the departure of the companies March 15.)
But Ford said SF Pride, which needs to raise about $1.2 million, will remain free of admission.
"We're not going to fail," Ford told the B.A.R. "Too many queer people depend on SF Pride."
In addition to the hundreds of thousands of spectators and parade participants that take part every year, Ford said SF Pride also has "hundreds of queer performers, artists" and others who work the event.
"We're free, probably the largest free Pride in the world," she added.
This year's SF Pride theme is "Queer Joy is Resistance."
Ford has attributed the sponsors' backtracking to the new anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion climate that is sweeping across corporate America since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. Almost immediately, he and his administration have gone after what they term as "woke" DEI policies and programs at businesses, universities, and in the federal government.
Ford was asked about Twin Cities Pride in Minneapolis, where Target is based and which ditched the retailer in January, according to the Advocate. Target, which drastically scaled back its Pride-themed merchandise last year, had been a major corporate sponsor of Twin Cities Pride and the company had pledged $50,000, but the Pride organization quickly raised over $89,000 after the split, the LGBTQ publication reported.
Ford acknowledged that a similar level of support from the community in San Francisco hasn't materialized as it did in Minneapolis.
"There hasn't been a groundswell of support" among the LGBTQ community here to crowdfund money to make up for lost sponsorships, Ford said.
Nevertheless, people can donate to SF Pride, she added, mentioning Pride-related events that do come with an admission price, like the popular party at San Francisco City Hall. There is also grandstand seating for the parade and there will be a fashion show at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Ford said.
"People can donate at sfpride.org," she added.
Comcast's decision not to be a sponsor is particularly noteworthy. The giant media company, which owns NBCUniversal, has long been known for its support of the LGBTQ community. Just last year, its Comcast California website touted the many ways the company embraces the community.
"All year long, Comcast is dedicated to celebrating the stories, pride, and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community," the company noted in a June 30, 2024 post on its website. "Our theme this year, 'Universal Truths Don't Change. Love Unites,' focuses on the universal truths prevalent in our daily lives, such as 'actions speak louder than words,' and 'we all deserve to be loved,' and the programming that brings these mantras to life. For Pride Month, we celebrated how these universal truths unite us and keep us connected to our communities."
Comcast and Target did not return messages seeking comment.
Tech companies
Ford told the B.A.R. that she has not yet talked to the tech companies or Target. She previously said that Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, will not be returning as an SF Pride sponsor this year.
As the B.A.R. noted last week, Chris Robert, deputy executive director of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee, stated at a virtual board meeting that Amazon, Apple, Google, and Target have not yet come aboard as sponsors for the June 28-29 event. All have abandoned anti-DEI efforts in recent months.
The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club published a letter to its Instagram page last month urging SF Pride to cut ties with companies that have jettisoned DEI policies and programs.
Ford told the B.A.R. that she could not comment further on the Milk club's statement.
At the March 12 membership meeting, SF Pride board President Joshua Smith didn't directly address the sponsorship matter during his remarks at the beginning of the meeting. He did say, "We are centered in a culture of belonging, of bridging, not a culture of breaking or othering people. Our door at SF Pride is always open to a conversation throughout our stakeholder communities."
Ford didn't speak to the issue of corporate sponsorships either, but did say that the committee's decisions "can't encapsulate everybody's opinion" about whether Pride is living up to its core values.
"My job is to ... make sure this platform is going to be here," Ford said at the meeting. "I think it's an enormous responsibility to make sure it's here for its 60th [anniversary], it's here for the 75th, no matter who's the president, no matter what's going on in this country. This has to exist."
Ford said that the platform of pride has to exist even for people who use it to say they aren't going to come.
"They can use the SF Pride platform to say they're not coming, and when they do that, we take our hats off to them and say, 'You're family, you're free to do that,'" Ford said.
Ford also clarified that "not all contingents [in the parade] are sponsors," giving Visa as an example of a group that marches in the parade but isn't a corporate sponsor. There is a fee, though, that most parade contingents have to pay, with this year's cost for businesses that have gross revenue under $10 million set at $1,121 and those over $10 million needing to pay $11,855.
"Only a few sponsors are in the top third in the parade," Ford said. "We have weighted it so corporations are mostly in second third or back third."
Google's parent company Alphabet edited out references to DEI in its report to the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year and ended diversity hiring targets, MSNBC reported. Google CEO Sundar Pichai also attended the Trump inaugural, which had limited attendance, as it was held inside the Capitol.
Amazon also removed references to "inclusion and diversity" from its SEC report, CNBC reported. The online retailer's former CEO, Jeff Bezos, is the owner of the Washington Post. Last year he spiked the paper's editorial board's planned endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, breaking with an almost half-century old tradition of presidential endorsements. Bezos was also a guest at the Trump inaugural. He recently changed the paper's op-ed policies to only adhere to two topics, personal liberties and free markets.
But Amazon remains committed to diversity and inclusion, according to a statement on its website.
"We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive company that helps us build the best range of products and services for our broad customer base," the company states on its Our Positions page. "Amazon customers represent a wide array of geographies, cultures, genders, races, ethnicities, abilities, ages, religions, sexual orientations, military status, backgrounds, and political views. To build the best products and services for our diverse customers, it's important for our workforce to be diverse, and this drives our commitment to equitable and inclusive employment and business opportunities – from prioritizing equal pay, to creating career pathways, to partnering with small and diverse businesses that help us serve our customers.
"We also believe that inequitable treatment of anyone – including Black people, LGBTQ+ people, Asians, women, and others – is unacceptable, and we advocate for policies designed to remove barriers to equity and create an inclusive environment for all employees," the statement reads.
An Amazon spokesperson told the B.A.R. they are looking into the Pride sponsorship matter.
Google and Apple did not return a request for comment.
John Ferrannini contributed reporting.
Updated, 3/18/25: This article has been updated with information on Amazon's position on diversity and inclusion.
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