After its inaugural festival this year, SLC Pride has not only generated a profit, but is also gearing up for next year’s festivities and has even applied for nonprofit status.
In an Instagram post Monday, the new festival, which was held in June as an alternative to the longstanding Utah Pride Center’s annual parade and festival, shared a 2024 event report that lists a profit of just over $1,800. Initially, in the days following the completion of SLC Pride, the group shared that it didn’t meet “financial needs to cover all costs of the festival.”
The release of SLC Pride’s finances follows a similar Instagram post by the Utah Pride Center, which has experienced years of turbulence — enough that some former employees and volunteers left to start the alternate event with a goal of being more transparent and locally focused.
SLC Pride spent just under $144,000 to put on its festival, and generated over $145,000. The three largest areas of cost were equipment and fencing at nearly $47,500, security at $25,000 and tenting at about $17,250.
The festival had four main areas of income: sponsors/donations at about $88,500, ticket sales at more than $23,250, vendor/5k fees at nearly $19,500 and beverage sales at roughly $14,500.
The festival had over 10,000 attendees (tickets cost $5 for over 5,700 of those people, while 3,700 people ages 17 and under came for free). The festival had 144 volunteers who worked over 9,200 hours, and 151 vendors. SLC Pride also had 4,200 square feet of free space donated to community organizations.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) People stroll down Rio Grande Street during the first SLC Pride at The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City, June 29, 2024.
The Utah Pride Center’s report last month, which detailed the finances of its scaled-back 2024 festivities, showed the center earned $374,000 in profit, spending $1.1 million and generating more than $1.4 million on this year’s festivities.
The pride center’s festival had over 30,000 attendees, 220 vendor booths, nearly 75 performers and over 500 volunteers.
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.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
In its report, SLC Pride said it would return for a second year from June 28-29, 2025, with the goal of making the festival free to all if the organization can raise $150,000.
