Today, the LGBTQ+ movement makes its presence felt across nearly every facet of American life. Movies, advertisements, schools, libraries, and even federal agencies all push the message. How was this done, who paid for it, and how much did it cost? The database below tells a major part of this story.

Our database profiles the LGBTQ+ activism of nearly 1,600 companies through Pride 2024, including all Fortune 500s and every company scored by the 2022-2023 Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. It also provides a sampling of these companies’ LGBTQ+ DEI initiatives, which are too numerous to list in full.

In the final analysis, the data we have collected shows that companies fund a large, seemingly grassroots network of more than 2,500 LGBTQ+ causes, many of which seek to transform society through extra-legislative means. Interestingly, companies appear to have a particular interest in youth- and transgender-related causes. Other causes range from a queer fetish museum to NGOs that facilitate the importation of transgender and HIV-positive “asylum seekers.” They also include Pride organizations, LGBTQ+ community centers, educational initiatives, professional activists, and more.

The more than $1 billion in funding we have uncovered is only a fraction of the total amount companies have given to these causes. The actual amount remains unknown because companies rarely disclose the full extent of their activism to the public or even their shareholders. We believe our database is a much-needed step toward transparency, a resource that illuminates the controversial actions companies take to benefit the LGBTQ+ movement.

See the Database