Our Impact

For more than 33 years, Nashville Pride has been more than just a weekend in June — it’s a lifeline, a stage, and a home for LGBTQIA+ people across Tennessee. Pride belongs to the people, and every dollar raised goes directly back into our community.

Supporting Our Community Year-Round

We partner with and support dozens of LGBTQIA+ organizations throughout Middle Tennessee — from grassroots advocacy groups and trans-led nonprofits, to HIV/AIDS service providers, youth shelters, and cultural programs. Pride dollars help sustain these organizations by offering grants, visibility, and a platform to connect with the thousands who attend.

Beyond the Festival

Nashville Pride isn’t just one weekend in June. Throughout the year, we host events that celebrate, educate, and connect our community:

• Turnabout — a drag and performance fundraiser that uplifts local talent.

• The Nashville Pride Pageant — honoring excellence in drag and performance.

• Martinis & Jazz — an annual fundraiser blending culture and community.

• The T Journey Mixers — trans-centric community event in partnership with local trans organizations.

• International Transgender Day of Visibility — event and panel to commemorate visibility within the trans community across the state.

• Community Visioning Project — an initiative to develop a collective vision for the future of the LGBTQ+ community in Middle Tennessee.

• Local, Rural Pride Support — as the largest Pride in the state, we support, collaborate, and fund rural pride festivals and events across Middle Tennessee to ensure ample spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.

• Educational workshops, panel discussions, and community mixers that bring LGBTQ+ people and allies together in safe and affirming spaces.

Serving Thousands Each Year

The Nashville Pride Festival & Parade is the largest LGBTQIA+ gathering in Tennessee and one of the biggest in the South:

• Thousands of attendees fill downtown Nashville each June.

  • 75,000 attendees in 2025

  • 125,000 attendees in 2024

  • 120,000 attendees in 2023

• More than 200 parade participants march down Broadway in the state’s largest parade.

• Hundreds of local and national vendors, sponsors, and nonprofits connect directly with our community.

• Multiple stages showcase queer artists, musicians, and performers who make Pride not only a protest, but a celebration.

What Pride Means

In Middle Tennessee, Pride is more than a festival — it’s a declaration. It’s a space where families can bring their kids, where elders can be honored, where trans and queer people can be visible and celebrated without fear. Pride is joy in the face of injustice, resistance in the face of hate, and love in the face of division.

Pride isn’t optional. Pride saves lives. And Pride belongs to all of us.

Why It’s at Risk

The sudden withdrawal of sponsors — including longtime and major backers — has left a massive hole in our budget, putting the future of Pride in jeopardy. And in Middle Tennessee, losing Pride isn’t just about one weekend in June.

Pride connects and uplifts the organizations doing the daily work to protect, support, and celebrate LGBTQ+ people across our state. Through partnerships and visibility, Pride amplifies:

• Middle Tennessee Transgender Alliance (mTTA), creating space and support for trans and nonbinary Tennesseans.

• Tennessee Equality Project, fighting on the frontlines against discriminatory legislation.

• Nashville Queer History, preserving and sharing the stories that built our community.

• Nashville CARES, providing life-saving HIV prevention, testing, and care.

• HRC Nashville and ACLU Tennessee, working in courts and legislatures to defend LGBTQ+ rights.

• MashUp, Oasis Center, and LaunchPad, giving queer youth shelter, safety, and leadership opportunities.

• Nashville Black Pride, celebrating and centering the voices of Black LGBTQ+ Nashvillians.

• PFLAG, supporting families and allies.

• Nashville in Harmony, using music to uplift and unify our community.

• Healing in the Margins, providing mental health services to the queer community.

• Tennessee Pride Chamber, ensuring our LGBTQ+ business community is vocal.

• + many, many more

Pride is a declaration of our existence. It is one of the only safe spaces for queer joy, resistance, and connection in a state where our rights, marriages, and livelihoods are constantly under attack. Without it, thousands lose the one space to be fully themselves. Nashville loses a vital piece of its culture and community. And the next generation loses a beacon of hope.