Cincinnati Pride announced that it will no longer accept corporate sponsors who have retreated from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and will move to a community-funding model.

Pride event organizers state that companies fear being targeted by the White House after the president signed an executive order entitled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing,” which aimed to end DEI programs in government offices. 

Though only applying to federal agencies, this move has put political pressure on corporations as well, resulting in many of them slashing their DEI programs.

Last month, for example, Anheuser-Busch declined to sponsor Pride St. Louis’s upcoming annual PrideFest, leaving the organizers $480,000 short, they told NBC News.

Pride organizations rely on sponsorship money for security, as anti-LGBTQ+ groups are known to show up to these events.

“We’re trying not to sound a huge alarm or to make this the only focus, but when we are down money, we’re down safety and security and accessibility as well,” said Eve Keller, co-president of USA Prides. Keller added that Pride organizations are now holding fewer and smaller events to avoid making cuts to security measures.

Cincinnati Pride, the LGBTQ+ nonprofit responsible for organizing the annual Pride Month Festival and Parade in Ohio’s state capital, is actively cutting ties with companies canceling their DEI programs. The organization hopes to raise $50,000 in community donations for this year’s Pride festival in June.

On the group’s website, the homepage shows a progress bar for the amount they have raised so far and a statement: “2025 is already proving to be one of the most important moments in time for our community. That’s why we at Cincinnati Pride have made the decision to reset our expectations around organizations that we partner with this year. While our organization relies heavily on achieving financial goals to help achieve our mission, we cannot in good conscience continue to collaborate with organizations that work against our mission of providing the greater Cincinnati LGBTQ+ community with resources to positively impact the lives of all individuals… This decision puts a significant amount of funding at risk.”

As of writing, the group has raised 77% of their funding goal at a total of $38,518.

Other Pride organizers have taken similar actions. TwinCities Pride in Minneapolis announced they would be dropping Target as a sponsor of their 2025 celebration after the retail giant rolled back their DEI Initiatives and ceased its partnership with the Human Rights Campaign.

The sponsors that remain with Cincinnati Pride are the grocery store chain Kroger, Fifth Third Bank, Delta Airlines, Procter & Gamble, and Hilton through its subsidiary franchise HardRock Hotel & Casino. Their sponsors include local businesses as well, such as Cincinnati-based Pure Romance.

The list of previous sponsors that have stuck with Cincinnati Pride have made statements that they will not be rolling back DEI initiatives in response to the administration’s crackdown.

“We are steadfast in our commitments because we think that they are actually critical to our business,” Delta’s chief external affairs officer, Peter Carter, told Fox5 when asked about the future of the company’s DEI initiatives. “Sustainability is about being more efficient in our operations, and really DEI is about talent, and that’s been our focus.”

Hilton, Kroger, and Procter & Gamble issued similar statements.