The Utah Pride Center earned $374,000 from its annual Pride Festival and Parade this year — cash, the nonprofit says, that will benefit its programs after a rocky financial past.
According to an event report, shared on the LGBTQ organization’s Instagram account, the center shelled out nearly $1.1 million to put on the festivities, but generated more than $1.4 million.
This year, the center’s three largest costs were tenting at $210,000, security at $180,000 and beverages at $140,000. The three largest money-makers were ticketing at $480,000, sponsorship at $480,000 and beverage sales at $240,000.
Releasing the financial report — and generating a profit — marks a stark contrast to what happened last year.
In August 2023, the center admitted to “massive financial turmoil” after a third of the organization’s employees were laid off. At the same time, the center hinted — and later backtracked — that it could close.
The center has experienced years of turbulence, enough that some former employees and volunteers started a new, grassroots pride festival, SLC Pride, which had its first run this year. Shortly after its completion, SLC Pride shared that it didn’t meet “financial needs to cover all costs of the festival.”
Ryan Newcomb, the Utah Pride Center’s previous executive director, has called the nonprofit’s debt “indefensible,” and said he was focused on rebuilding trust with the community.
The center’s new executive director, Chad Call, who was appointed in March as an interim director and has since taken the job full-time, has led the center in a new direction. Ahead of the 2024 festival and parade, Call unveiled plans for the event, promising a scaled-back version with a focus on local talent and community.
“Since the Utah Pride festivities, our small and focused staff has been working tirelessly to revive and expand our programs,” Call said in a news release, “and we are proud to announce that we now host weekly programs at the Utah Pride Center for both youth and all ages.”
In a later interview, Call said those programs are hosted five days a week and include things ranging from karaoke to a class on hormone replacement therapy.
The center and the nonprofit’s board, he said, approached the 2024 festivities with a special focus on finances.
”We knew that this was our moment to sink or swim, I guess,” he said. “In 2024 we had to have a financially responsible event that turned a revenue. We didn’t have an option to not turn a revenue.”
According to the new pride center report, the parade had 18,000 participants and over 50,000 spectators. The festival had over 30,000 attendees, 220 vendor booths, nearly 75 performers and over 500 volunteers.
Users on social media praised the center for sharing the report, with one poster saying it was “refreshing to see the transparency and accountability.”
“You have done a great deal,” the user said, “to rebuild the trust bank significantly.”