Bemidji Pride joins nationwide Give Out Day to boost local support

Bemidji Pride used Give Out Day to raise money for the volunteer-led work it says few other organizations in Bemidji, Beltrami County and rural Northwest Minnesota are equipped to do. The group says donations help sustain events, community support and local resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and adults, not just one Pride weekend.

Give Out Day is GiveMN’s LGBTQ+ national giving day, scheduled for the first Thursday in June and promoted as a month-long outpouring of support for LGBTQ+ nonprofits. GiveMN says the campaign generated critical funds and visibility for hundreds of LGBTQ+-centered organizations in 2025, and the event has raised more than $10 million over nine years under the Horizons Foundation.

For Bemidji Pride, the appeal is tied directly to capacity. The organization says it began in 2021, later became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is dedicated to sponsoring, supporting and producing events that cultivate hope and provide support for 2SLGBTQIA+ people. It also says its work includes educating the community about 2SLGBTQIA+ issues and collaborating with allied individuals and organizations across Bemidji, Beltrami County and the Tri-Reservation areas of Red Lake, Leech Lake and White Earth.

That local reach matters in a county of 47,055 people, where the U.S. Census Bureau estimates 21.7% of residents identify as American Indian and Alaska Native alone. Bemidji Pride says its vision includes a commitment to the BIPOC Trans community and to voices often left out of Pride movements, making its programming part of a broader local equity effort as much as a celebration.

The group says donations also help fund a safe, fun and affirming Pride event in a region where it describes itself as the only organization of its kind. Its annual festival typically requires more than 70 volunteers, and its 2026 Pride weekend is scheduled for Aug. 27-29 at Rail River Folk School, 303 Railroad St. SW, in Bemidji. A 2025 KAXE report said more than 40 vendors were expected at that year’s family festival, underscoring how much organizing and local backing the event takes to hold together.

For Beltrami County residents, the fundraising effort is less about a one-day campaign than about whether a small community organization can keep offering spaces, programming and support that many LGBTQIA2S+ people rely on year-round.