Nashville Pride raises alarm as long-time sponsors pull funding

The future of Nashville Pride is uncertain as organizers face a more than $300,000 shortfall year-over-year in corporate giving and volunteers.

Nearly 40% of the festival’s long-time sponsors withdrew support this year, some just days before the event in late June.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center had volunteered to staff a medical tent for the event but cancelled one month beforehand, costing the cash-strapped festival a surprise $32,000. Rainy weather also hampered attendance at a time when organizers planned to expand from two days of concerts to three.

Nashville Pride’s financial situation mirrors a nationwide trend in decreased giving to LGBTQ organizations. While giving to non-profits is down across the board, Brady Ruffin, Secretary of Nashville Pride’s Board of Directors, said it’s hard not to feel that the withdraw is connected to a rise in anti-LGBTQ sentiment.

“Obviously, we saw an influx of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric (during the first Trump administration) as well, but this time around it seems like things have more legs,” Ruffin said. “It’s not only attacks on the legislative level, but it’s attacks on corporate funding as well.”

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In the current climate, Nashville Pride has stepped up security, which has only added to its deficit.

“It’s very important for us to keep our security private as a queer-centric organization,” Ruffin said. “We are incredibly thankful for our partners at the Nashville Police Department … but Pride specifically started as a protest. There’s a really nuanced relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and uniform police departments.”

The annual LGBTQ festival is asking for community support to help bridge the gap. The goal is to raise $250,000 by National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11.

“Pride has always been about the people. Corporate sponsors don’t make pride, but their sudden withdrawal has really put the burden back on us,” Ruffin said. “We may be one of the first ones in the South, or in the country, to really put out this kind of state-of-emergency-esque call to action, but we’re definitely not going to be the (only) Pride that’s going to experience these kinds of things.”