Iowa Pride Events Push Forward Despite Drop in Corporate Sponsors

In Iowa, Pride Month celebrations are moving forward despite a shift in corporate support that’s impacting events across the country.

Des Moines will kick off its three-day Capital City Pride celebration this Friday. While some major sponsors have backed out, organizers say they’ve managed to maintain their budget.

“It makes me proud that we can come into this strong in a year where some other festivals have struggled,” said Wes Mullins of Capital City Pride. “A few of our sponsors stepped back this year, but we’ve had more sponsors come in to take that place.”

Nationally, many Pride organizers are seeing sharp budget cuts. New York Pride is facing a $750,000 shortfall, St. Louis is down $150,000, and Kansas City lost nearly half its event budget—about $200,000.

In Valley Junction, Pride organizer Val Veiock says corporate support has been harder to secure this year. “I try to go after all the big name people,” she said. “What I’ve kind of received back—it's just radio silence from a lot of people.”

A recent poll by business data firm Gravity Research found that roughly 60% of companies scaling back on Pride sponsorship cited politics—particularly the Trump administration—as the main factor.

Despite the drop in national sponsorship, smaller local businesses are helping keep Iowa’s Pride celebrations going. One of them is Amy Hilmes, owner of Happy in Valley Junction.

“I think I doubled my sponsorship here in Valley Junction,” Hilmes shared.

Her store is one of more than 1,000 Iowa businesses listed online that pledged to support inclusivity. That show of solidarity comes after the state removed gender identity protections from its civil rights code earlier this year.

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Credit: CNN Newsource