Calgary Pride says funding shortfall due to weak economy, DEI rollbacks, new sponsorship framework

Calgary Pride says funding for this year's parade and festival is very short, with about $300,000 having dried up.

Calgary Pride says it’s short about $300,000, which is about one-third of its annual budget, due to a decrease in funding from corporate sponsors and grant funding.

Organizers believe there are multiple factors—that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives have been limited or reduced in the United States, but it’s having a ripple effect in Canada.

“I think very obviously the consequences of the rollback of DEI have been incredibly substantial,” said Taylor Sanford, manager of sponsorship and fund development for Calgary Pride.

“We’ve seen that coming into Canada as well. There are a lot of companies that do business in both countries.”

Sanford said they have postponed the Alphabet Mafia event for the QTBIPOC community to the spring.

“It’s been a tough year for Calgary Pride; it’s also been a tough year for a number of major Pride organizations across Canada,” Sanford said.

A professor from the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University agrees that Pride organizations nationwide are facing similar concerns.

“One is broader DEI rollbacks, and the second is shifting public attitudes, and of course these two things are related,” said Leah Hamilton, a professor of organizational behaviour.

Calgary Pride also believes changes to its sponsorship rules to effectively ban some individuals or groups are contributing to the shortfall.

“We also anticipated with the release of our ethical sponsorship policy that we might see tighter budgets this year. This is a new aspect we are incorporating; we have a new committee that’s reviewing partnerships,” Sanford said.

The aim is to reduce “pink-washing,” a term that means a corporation, group or political party is using Pride events for exposure, not for genuine support of the community.

Hamilton says pink-washing is also a concern when corporations choose not to donate.

“We’re seeing many companies back away, and this suggests that their support for Pride was conditional.”

Concorde Group is continuing to offer multiple Pride events, also by crafting a cocktail for which partial proceeds benefit Rainbow Railroad, a global non-profit supporting 2SLGBTQIA+.

Managers say they see no reason to pull back support for Pride.

“It’s so important to have diversity, inclusion and representation. And especially with the way we are now, to have those inclusive safe spaces, we are a huge advocate and ally for queer communities,” said Dane Walker, general manager for National Toronto, with Concorde Entertainment Group.

The Calgary Pride Festival begins on Saturday.

The parade takes place on Sunday.

Sanford also says budgets are tight for many companies and individuals because of the weak economy.

They are also asking for more volunteers for this year’s events to show support, if cash is tight.