Santander UK has today been announced as the headline sponsor for the 2023 Milton Keynes Pride Festival (MKPF).
MKPF seeks to promote visibility, social cohesion, connection, education, equality, and promotion of the LGBTQ+ community in Milton Keynes and surrounding areas.
The annual Pride event last year saw over 16,000 people attend.
MK Pride is free to enter, and therefore relies solely on sponsorship and donations.
Drew Gibson, Head of Inclusion, Belonging & Wellbeing at Santander UK said: “At Santander our core values champion inclusivity for our people, and the communities that we are part of.
"To celebrate inclusivity, we are delighted to have been selected again as the headline sponsor for the 2023 Milton Keynes Pride Festival.”
The announcement comes as MKFM yesterday reported that Volkswagen Group UK had announced its continuing sponsorship of the Milton Keynes Pride Festival, sending a clear message of support for diversity and inclusion from the team at Volkswagen Group.
• Headline Sponsor •
— Milton Keynes Pride Festival (@mkpridefestival) June 16, 2023
Drew Gibson, Head of Inclusion, Belonging & Wellbeing at @santanderuk said: “Our core values champion inclusivity for our people & the communities that we are part of, we are delighted to be the headline sponsor again for MKPF 2023” #SantanderUk #MKPF pic.twitter.com/26Wm0NDczR
There are still sponsorship opportunities available for this year's MK Pride Festival.
Keith Emmett added: "Our sponsorship package enables us to provide this established event in MK for the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, we offer spaces to sponsors so that you can see in real time where your money has been spent. As a non profit CIC all money goes to facilitating the event and community engagement. This year for our community area we are focusing on mental and physical health to provide discussion and activities to support positive wellbeing.
"Milton Keynes Pride Festival is an expensive event to host, with costs running towards £160,000 we rely on a lot of sponsorship, in kind support, donations and your individual support to keep pride a FREE event!"
If you would like to invest in the event via a package we ask that you either have an established LGBTQ+ network/support or that you will work with us to develop one that will benefit your staff and customers. This element is a part of our social action and we want to be proud to work with you and promote you as a safe space for our community.
If you own a business in Milton Keynes and would like to find out about how you can get involved, please call 01908 230 149 or email sales@mkfm.com.
