Seattle Pride Unveils 2023 Impact Report

For the first time ever, Seattle Pride has issued an Impact Report, focusing on our year-round efforts in community events, advocacy, and community grants and sponsorships.

The 2022-23 Seattle Pride Impact Report is our chance to share our accomplishments of the past year, including the production of the Seattle Pride Parade which drew an estimated 300,000 people to celebrate our theme, ‘Galactic Love.” The report also highlights more than 50 small LGBTQIA-serving nonprofit organizations which benefited from reduced registration fees, grants, and sponsorships via our Community Grants program, as well as the power of queer visibility garnered through local news stories, and the impact of more than 250 volunteers who shared their time and talent with us over the past year.

Seattle Pride works year-round to create unity, honor diversity, and achieve equal human rights for all, and we invite you to read our Impact Report with the following introductory letter from Patti Hearn, Seattle Pride’s executive director.

Dear Community,

I am so thrilled to share with you this Seattle Pride Impact Report, which tells the story of the many ways our organization has served, supported, and celebrated our community over the past year.

While the report highlights our tangible 2022-23 efforts, it’s not possible to fully measure the significant impact Seattle Pride has made within our community and beyond. There is no metric, for example, for the feelings experienced when a person who has been rejected by their family finds themselves among celebration and joy at the Seattle Pride Parade for the first time. There is no graph that conveys the relief felt by someone without economic means as they gather in community at a Seattle Pride event that is free-of-charge. There is no way to quantify the accomplishment felt by the leader of a fledgling organization upon receiving a Seattle Pride grant. There are uncountable instances of connection, visibility, and joy catalyzed by Seattle Pride’s programs.

This report will show you, however, many of the inspiring and important accomplishments from Seattle Pride’s 2022-23 fiscal year. You will see that 275 individual organizations marched in the state’s largest parade which was witnessed by nearly 300,000 people and that it was a beautiful celebration of “Galactic Love” – this year’s theme. You will see that 52 small organizations benefited from reduced registration fees, grants, and sponsorships via our Community Grants program. You will see the power of queer visibility in our social media, television coverage, and print media. You will see that 250 volunteers shared their time and talent with us over the year and that our youth interns brought their skills and willingness to learn to Seattle Pride in the Park.

At events and in our daily connections, I am so moved by the beauty and power in our community. I know that we will continue to show up for each other – and I know it will be necessary. While much progress has been made to advance the rights and acceptance of LGBTQIA+ people, there are people working hard to reverse this progress. The onslaught of anti-LGBTQIA+ laws, the hate directed towards our community, and the fear that many of us have for our futures loom large.

Let us now look ahead and take control of that future. The year 2024 marks the 50th year of Pride celebrations in Seattle. It is now, at this moment, that we can and must pause together. Let’s acknowledge this milestone with joy and pride. At the same time, let us work in solidarity to ensure that the next 50 years bring forth strides in inclusion, equity, and justice.

Thank you for the many ways you have had your own impact on our community.

With pride,

Patti Hearn

Read the impact report here.