Name: VA Pridefest, Richmond’s largest celebration of the LGBTQ+ community

Why you know it: Nationwide pressure to roll back DEI initiatives led several corporate sponsors to pull funding from the event, putting pressure on organizers to find a way to fill the gap. 

What’s happening now?

James Millner, the program director at VA Pride, said despite funding losses, Pridefest was still able to hit its financial goals, both for individual and corporate donors.

“ That is in large part due to some corporate sponsors, who, when they realized we were struggling, stepped up to contribute more to help us close the gap that we were afraid we were gonna have,” Millner said.

“ We were very, very grateful to have that level of support, and the fact that many of our partners were paying attention and realizing that we needed their extra support and were able to give it.” 

He also highlighted that individual donors stepped up to make Pride happen as well, both through direct donations and involvement at events.

“ We were really fortunate, but we hustled,” he said. “We really worked hard to raise the money to put on the kind of event and to do the kind of work that Virginia Pride does all year.”

For 2026, he said they’ve lowered the funding goal for corporate sponsors and are focusing on creating more opportunities to bring community together throughout the year. 

“ This is not just about one event like Pride Fest,” Millner said. “It is the work that the Virginia Pride program does year round through events, through our community, in working with our community partners and our business partners and our corporate partners. All of those things. And I think that’s what our community needs to see, is to feel that there’s this galvanizing force that is bringing people together. And I think at this moment, that is what we are looking to do in 2026.” 

Next year, the show will go on — and for now, the format will look a lot like past Pride events. But Millner left the door open to rethinking what that may look like moving forward as well. 

“I think that there’s also a conversation to be had, is that the best use of those resources? And is that really what our community needs and wants moving forward? This has been the model that kind of emerged in the, you know, mid to late 90s, of these large-scale pride festivals. And I think it’s worth having a conversation around whether that is a model that still resonates with people today,” he said.

As part of that rethinking, one of PrideFest’s unique quirks – its September date – could be changed as well. But Millner said June, which is celebrated as Pride Month nationally, probably won’t be the landing spot.