Bud Light will donate $200,000 for a second year to support “LGBTQ+ business owners of color,” according to a press release by parent company Anheuser-Busch. The donation is awarded to an organization with a strict process for verifying whether business owners are gay.
In 2022, Anheuser-Busch announced Bud Light’s partnership with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) and a $200,000 donation to the chamber’s “Communities of Color Initiative.” Anheuser-Busch released a statement on May 30, 2023, announcing Bud Light’s continued partnership with the NGLCC and another donation of $200,000.
“This [Communities of Color] initiative is designed to support the growth and success of minority LGBTQ+-owned businesses through certification, scholarships and business development in an effort to create equal opportunities for the economic advancement of small businesses in the LGBTQ+ community,” the statement reads.
This year, Bud Light will also support the NGLCC’s “CoCi Biz Pitch program,” a new initiative in which LGBTQ+ business owners of color compete for a $5,000 investment. The winner can compete for a $50,000 prize at the chamber’s upcoming International Business and Leadership conference.
The NGLCC claims to be the largest advocacy organization for economic advancement of LGBTQ-identifying people and “the exclusive certifying body for LGBTQ-owned businesses.”
The NGLCC enforces a stringent process to verify whether business owners are gay. Applicants for NGLCC certification must provide documentation to prove LGBTQ affiliation, which can be satisfied with a “letter from three personal references attesting to LGBTQ status of business owner(s),” a “Physician/therapist carry letter or letter confirming transgender status,” or “Bills and/or forms for gender affirmation surgery,” among other records. The chamber then sends a “trained site visitor” to corroborate the application.
“Anheuser-Busch is committed to the programs and partnerships they have forged over decades with organizations to drive economic prosperity across a number of communities,” the press release states. “Anheuser-Busch has a strong track record of industry leadership in supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Over the past 20 years Anheuser-Busch has supported both local and national non-profit organizations that are committed to advocating for LGBTQ+ equality.”
Bud Light sales in the United States plummeted by over 21 percent in April after a collaboration with Dylan Mulvaney, a self-described “trans woman” who gained over 10 million followers on TikTok with a “Days of Girlhood” video series. Anheuser-Busch has lost about $27 billion in market value since late March, meanwhile its stock price declined by roughly 20 percent.
Bud Light has not announced whether it will sell rainbow-colored aluminum bottles during June to recognize Pride Month, which it had done in previous years.