Several national and local companies that have supported Ohio’s largest LGBTQ+ Pride Month celebration in the past are backing out this year.
Densil Porteous, executive director of Stonewall Columbus, said Lowe's, Nissan, Anheuser-Busch and Walmart are some of the larger companies that are not supporting Columbus' pride events this year. Porteous said the lost funding amounts to about $150,000.
Porteous said some companies are pulling back DEI initiatives. Private companies are under pressure and caving to demands to end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from Republicans at the state level and at the federal level with the Trump administration.
Porteous said that is disheartening and everyone should be upset at what is happening.
"We are seeing a lot of that same thing coming from a presidential administration, from a state administration that is saying or curtailing people and companies and organizations from being their full selves," Porteous said. "They are not allowing people to show up the way that they want to show up... organizations to show up the way that they wanna show up for their associates and their communities."
Stonewall Columbus is a non-profit that provides services to the LGBTQ+ community year-round beyond the parade and festival.
WOSU reached out to the four large companies Porteous mentioned, but only heard back from Nissan and Walmart. The two companies didn't address questions about if they are feeling pressure to pull back support from LGBTQ+ issues.
Walmart spokesman Jimmy Carter said in a statement they are focusing on supporting LGBTQ+ customer associates.
“Our focus remains on creating an environment where our associates and customers feel they belong. In the Columbus area, our associates are volunteering in June with community organizations, including those which support the LGBTQ+ community," Carter said.
CNBC reported that Walmart announced just after the 2024 presidential election that it would be scaling back DEI initiatives and removing some LGBTQ-related merchandise from its website.
In a statement, a Nissan spokesperson said they are trying to change strategies.
"Nissan is currently reviewing all marketing and sales spending — including select consumer auto shows, sports properties and other entertainment activations — to maximize both efficiency and breakthrough effectiveness," the statement said.
Porteous said Nissan helped sponsor last year's Pride festivities with $25,000 for what he called a "marketing moment" that Stonewall Columbus fully expected would continue in 2025. Porteous did not say exactly how much the other larger companies donated.
The Associated Press reported that Lowe's in August also started scaling back DEI policies.
Porteous said Anheuser-Busch did help bring in support from another beverage company to help fill some of the void left by the nationally-known brewing company.
Porteous said with a lot of companies, their support for the LGBTQ+ community is nuanced and can be different when comparing local franchisees. He gave McDonald's as an example, saying the C-suite executives at the fast food company may not support Pride, but a local owner and employees may do so.
Porteous said this also isn't an unexpected turn of events. Stonewall Columbus has been preparing for a backlash and secured a $276,000 grant from the Franklin County Board of Commissioners to help "weather the storm."
"This moment was not unknown, right? I think what we saw across the country had been a rise in rhetoric and anti-LGBTQ legislation. We started to see a shifting of DEI and acceptance policies at companies prior to this year, prior to the president returning to the administration," Porteous said.
Porteous said the LGBTQ+ community has always been concerned about companies being "one-hit wonders" that only show their support in June during Pride Month and then disappear. He said Stonewall Columbus has been working to get these companies to continue investment and support so it isn't just a June marketing gimmick.
"It's an investment in the organization that then allows us to leverage those dollars to the success of the organization, so that we can then provide services to our community members, some of which include associates at many of these companies and organizations here in Columbus who support the work that we do," Porteous said.
Porteous said there is a fear among LGBTQ+ people and companies because of what is happening at the national and state level. The Trump administration and the Ohio Legislature have removed several DEI initiatives, which has made a largely negative impact on the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender people.
Ohio State University and groups like the Ohio History Connection have lost federal funding for projects to honor LGBTQ+ people and research on the community.
Despite threats to public education funding, Ohio State spokesman Ben Johnson said in a statement that OSU is still allowing individual colleges, units and student organizations to participate in Pride events, as long as they clearly communicate that participation is open to all.
"Individual students, faculty and staff are welcome to participate. Ohio State supports their right to freedom of speech and expression. The university has not traditionally participated “as a whole,” rather individual colleges, units and student organizations arrange to participate if interested," Johnson said.
OSU, Ohio University and other public universities in the state have closed LGBTQ+ Pride centers and DEI offices at the colleges, citing state laws and executive orders from the Trump administration.
The Ohio General Assembly is considering following in Trump's footsteps and trying to declare that there are only two sexes. The legislature is also considering relocating LGBTQ+ content at state libraries.
Porteous did not name any of the smaller companies that have dropped support. He said this is because companies may not have changed their involvement or support because of attacks on the LGBTQ+ community and DEI initiatives.
"It just may mean that these companies may also just don't have the resources to support the organization like they did in the past," Porteous said.
This year's Columbus Pride March is scheduled for Saturday, June 14 starting at 10:30 a.m. from downtown to the Short North on North High Street. The accompanying festival and resource fair starts June 13 and continues through the next day at Goodale Park.
