St. Pete Pride Asks Supporters to Raise $289,000 by Nov. 30 to Erase Its Deficit Before the 25th Anniversary

St. Pete Pride, the organization behind what it calls Florida's largest Pride celebration, is asking supporters to donate $289,000 by Nov. 30 to pay off the remaining bills from its 2026 event and start planning its 25th anniversary in 2027 with a clean balance sheet. As of Oct. 16, community members had given about $20,000, according to WUSF.

The nonprofit's new board president, Trent Brock, has tied the shortfall to sponsors that reduced their giving or pulled out entirely, rising event costs and a pattern of carrying unpaid expenses from one year into the next. He has warned that next year's festival could be smaller if the money does not come in.

Why the organization is short

St. Pete Pride entered 2026 still paying expenses from 2025, and Brock has said the habit of rolling over debt has gone on for several years, WFLA reported. "It's essentially like a dark cloud that continues to follow us," he told the station. In a message posted to the organization's social media when the campaign launched Oct. 5, Brock wrote, "We can't continue operating this way," and said the group must finish each Pride season financially before producing the next and begin its next chapter with a $0 balance, according to the station.

Corporate support has been the biggest hole. Brock told WUSF that a lot of sponsors either reduced the amount they gave or pulled out completely. In the run-up to the June festivities, the organization lost about $200,000 in sponsorships, Bay News 9 reported. Government organizations, some politicians and general businesses were among those that pulled back or cut their amounts, the station reported in July.

Brock has said all of the organization's money comes from sponsorships and individual donations. Individual giving has also dropped, according to WMNF.

The state law hanging over the event

The fundraising push is unfolding against Senate Bill 1134, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in April. The law bars Florida cities and counties from funding or promoting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and bars recipients of local government grants from using that money for such purposes. It takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. Residents can sue local governments they believe are not complying, Reuters reported at the time of the signing.

Brock told WUSF that the law has already affected fundraising and sponsorships this year, even before it formally takes effect.

Local government money has already dried up. The governor's office has said the Florida DOGE review found the city paid $258,000 to support Pride events, Bay News 9 reported; the station did not report the city's own accounting. FOX 13 reported in June that St. Pete Pride faced a $146,000 budget shortfall after losing municipal funding. State Rep. Berny Jacques, a Pinellas County Republican who backed the House version of the bill, has said it protects taxpayers and does not prevent organizations like St. Pete Pride from raising private money.

A shortfall that kept growing

The size of the gap has grown as the year went on. In June, reports put the shortfall at $146,000, and organizers asked each attendee at the festival to bring $1 to help close it. During Pride weekend, the group raised about $16,000 toward a fundraising goal of $100,000 to $150,000, according to Bay News 9. It later canceled its Shades of Pride event. The new $289,000 figure covers what the organization still owes from 2026.

There has been some help from individuals. Scott Simon, a dancer who regularly performs at Bradley's on 7th in Tampa, pledged to match up to $25,000 in donations made to St. Pete Pride during a limited window this week, WMNF reported.

How big St. Pete Pride is

St. Pete Pride has run since 2003, and the June 2026 parade was its 24th. The celebration fills downtown St. Petersburg and the Grand Central District in late June, with a parade, a street fair, marches, art and live music. Organizers estimated roughly 350,000 participants in 2026, FOX 13 reported, while other outlets have put Pride weekend attendance at nearly 300,000. Organizers had expected larger crowds than usual this year because Tampa Pride was not held, according to Bay News 9.

Brock has described the event as the largest Pride celebration in Florida and one of the largest in the country. Businesses along Central Avenue see some of their biggest crowds of the year that weekend. Joe Christianson, owner of Dad's Kitchen, told WFLA it would be sad to see the festival go. At Cleopatra Ink, tattoo artist Azer Kucuk told the station the shop offered free piercings and tattoos to LGBTQ community members along with festival discounts.

What's at risk

Brock has said the event itself is not going away. "The future is in jeopardy, but St. Pete Pride will never be canceled," he told WFLA. He told WUSF the organization is committed to making sure there is a St. Pete Pride in 2027, though that festival may not be as big as it has been in years past. Earlier in the summer, he said organizers would look at which events could be made smaller or dropped.

He has framed the risk as reaching beyond next year. Without ending the cycle of debt, he told WFLA, the organization's footing five to 10 years out is uncertain.

A new board takes over

Brock, who joined the organization in March 2025 and most recently served as vice president, became board president in September, when St. Pete Pride announced a new board ahead of its 25th season, according to Watermark. Byron Green-Calisch was board president during the June 2026 festival, FOX 13 reported. This is the first year the festival has relied on community members to fund it, WUSF reported.

What's next

The organization hopes to reach $289,000 by Nov. 30 so it can close its 2026 books and then fund the 2027 event with new sponsorships and donations. With SB 1134 taking effect Jan. 1, public support from local governments is likely to remain off the table, leaving the 25th anniversary celebration dependent on private sponsors and individual donors.