Pride Fort Lauderdale’s financial health is questionable. One of those questions is: when will they repay money owed to CAN Community Health?
The answer is: not soon.
This week, CAN received an email that $50,000 owed to them will not be arriving on a previously agreed upon schedule. CAN/Midland Health pulled out as a sponsor of Pride of the Americas (POTA), an event produced last month by Pride, citing a lack of transparency by, and questionable management of, the organization. They were a major sponsor and had committed $100,000 for this year and each of the next two years.
At the time they withdrew, CAN and Midland Health had already sent $75,000. In addition to refusing the final installment and pulling funds earmarked for Pride in 2023-24, they also asked for their money back. At the time, both Pride and CAN/Midland (they are now one entity but made separate donations) said a repayment would happen and a tentative schedule was set.
Now it appears that Midland’s $25,000 will be repaid but CAN’s $50,000 is up in the air.
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SFGN reached out to Roger Capote, CAN’s Chief Communications Officer, shortly after receiving the notice.
“We have no comment on the issue,” he said. “All requests should be directed to our in-house counsel.”
Pride’s president, Miik Martorell, said they are working it out.
“CAN/Midland are great people that we appreciate wholeheartedly and we will work with them.”
The state of Pride’s finances is unclear. Originally predicted to lose money, sources close to POTA said they managed to make money. Martorell also said the organization has no plans to file bankruptcy. However, the revelation of delays to CAN/Midland are raising eyebrows.
Pride and CAN/Midland’s relationship has been tense for some time. SFGN published reports about chaotic internal relationships and a lack of planning for an event years in the making. CAN/Midland was unhappy with the way Pride responded to the stories and eventually severed the relationship. CAN’s decision to refer everything to their legal team marks a distinct deterioration of their relationship.
