When Target dropped its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, Twin Cities Pride dropped them as a sponsor and began fundraising to make up the $50,000 lost from no longer taking Target donations.

What once looked like an uphill battle quickly turned Twin Cities Pride’s way, said Andi Otto, Twin Cities Pride executive director. Within 24 hours, Twin Cities Pride hit its $50,000 fundraiser goal and earned nearly $90,000.

Target’s announcement to drop its DEI programs came as other companies like Walmart, McDonald’s, Disney and Lowe’s cut their DEI  policies. 

Otto said he was shocked when he found out Target, a long-time Pride sponsor, was ending its three-year DEI goals and Racial Equity Actions and Change initiatives. 

“Target’s been a partner of ours for as far back as I can remember and that’s roughly 18 years,” Otto said. “They’ve always been a big supporter and I think known globally as a leader in diversity and inclusion, and so to hear that this is what was happening was completely unexpected and shocking.”

Speaking with Target before the official announcement over the phone, Otto said it felt like a sucker punch to the gut. 

In a memo sent to employees about the decision, Target Chief Community Impact and Equity Officer Kiera Fernandez said the company was reevaluating its internal diversity policies, the Associated Press reported.

“Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,” Fernandez wrote in the memo. “And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future.

Dropping DEI was significant because it is more than just hiring diverse people, LGBTQ+ advocacy organization OutFront Minnesota’s Executive Director Kat Rohn said.

“It’s about trying to create companies, institutions, communities, spaces where more people are included in the promise of whatever work is going on,” Rohn said. “There needs to be work that’s targeted to support folks and to include them in spaces where they have historically been excluded.”

Rohn said consumer trust is important, and while the LGBTQ+ community is a small portion of the population, they are not insignificant. 

“It is a disservice to Target’s employees, but also a disservice to the communities that they serve to step back on what was thoughtful and good commitments to trying to increase the engagement across a broad range of areas, both internally and externally facing,” Rohn said

Target always can come back to Pride as a sponsor if they reverse course, Otto said. 

“If they’re willing to make the moves and ensure that the LGBTQ(+) community and not just us but the people of color, people of different ethnicities, all of that are still protected in their stores and they can show that then I have no problem letting them back in,” Otto said. “I think that they lost a lot of trust with the community when they did this, and our community clearly told us that it was not okay.”

While some companies who have kept their DEI policies have faced some scrutiny in the short term, Rohn said sticking with DEI will be the best decision in the long run. 

“Many of us share, you know, identities that are going to be impacted by these shifting investments and prioritization. We’re going to see that the folks who hold strong to these investments and values are going to emerge better out the other side,” Rohn said. “Maybe not today or tomorrow, but long-term because they understand the impacts of having institutions and workplaces and businesses that reflect the diversity of our communities.”

Pride will be held on June 28 and 29.