Come Out With Pride granted 501(c)(3) status

Orlando’s annual pride event is now officially a charitable organization.

Come Out With Pride’s (COWP) freshly-minted 501(c)(3) status has been a long time coming, says Metropolitan Business Association (MBA) president Dr. David Baker-Hargrove. The MBA is the organizing body behind COWP.

“Ever since the first year, we’ve talked about [applying as a tax-exempt organization],” says Hargrove. This will be COWP’s sixth year.

He says the designation was accepted on their first application, and he received the letter confirming it March 23.

“From a funding standpoint, a lot of pride events throughout country are 501c3 public charities and that really allows them to tap into a donor market that does not exist if you don't have that status,” Baker-Hargrove says.
“For Come Out With Pride, our biggest issue was that when anybody sponsors or donates to the event, from a corporate standpiont, they can’t write it off and can only expense it as sales and marketing.”

He says this becomes a big issue when they go after big corporate donors who want to show their diversity support for Orlando’s community, but may not have a large budget for the niche LGBT market.

“Now that we’re a 501(c)(3) public charity, [donations and sponsorships] can go to a whole different spot on the balance sheet, as charitable donations,” Baker-Hargrove says. 

In addition to helping the MBA go after larger corporate sponsors, Baker-Hargrove says the designation will ultimately create a higher-caliber event.

“It’s not about making it bigger or better, it’s about enhancing the quality,” he says. “I see the future development of funding streams so we can have paid staff.”

The event is currently entirely volunteer-run. He says the new designation will also allow them to apply for grant funding.