Kum & Go to donate $10,000 to Capital City Pride

Capital City Pride Receives $10,000 from Kum & Go. Funds will Support the Organization’s Year Round Advocacy Programming.

DES MOINES, Iowa, August 15, 2019 — Capital City Pride(CCP), an Iowa LGBTQ+ non-profit dedicated to producing events and programming that educate and celebrate Iowa’s diverse community, is pleased to announce a charitable contribution in the amount of $10,000 from partner, Kum & Go to support the year-round advocacy programming planned for 2020.

“We are thrilled to have Kum & Go as a first-time sponsor and also the first corporate sponsor for the 2020 Pride year,” said Dan Jansen, President of Capital City Pride. “Their generous gift will go a long way in supporting diversity and inclusion throughout the Des Moines community.”

“Our differences make us stronger, and one of the most diverse places you can go is to a Kum & Go store,” said Kum & Go chairman & CEO Kyle Krause. “Our stores welcome everyone and this is why we are proud to support Capital City Pride for 2020.”

The CCP annual festival, PrideFest, brought over 30,000 people to Des Moines’ East Village in June and earned the organization and Des Moines national attention. The event was the most well attended PrideFest Weekend in the organizations 41 years, featuring the biggest Pride Parade and the first full Pride Week with over seven days of events leading up to the first three-day PrideFest weekend. CCP staff and volunteers are planning to again break more attendance records in 2020.

Additionally corporate sponsorships will help fund more year round programs. CCP plans to host a new trivia series starting in September that will continue throughout the year. Monster Ball, a CCP Halloween party is planned for October 19, 2019, at the Temple for Performing Arts, with all ticket proceeds donated towards programming. The free Speaker Series will begin January 2020 run through June 2020. The third ever Pride Gala will be held March 7, 2020 at the River Center downtown and the theme is Vogue. CCP Book Clubs will continue to provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ and allies to meet and discuss LGBTQ+ literature.

“This support is more than just writing a check. It’s about working alongside Capital City Pride and other local groups to ensure that we’re building a truly inclusive culture that speaks to the issues that matter most to our LGBTQ+ associates and customers,” added Kum & Go president Tanner Krause. “Supporting Pride in Des Moines is for Kum & Go, the beginning of this journey. We want to use this year to review where we are, how far we’ve come and how much further we have yet to go to ensure we are on a pathway towards a workplace that leads on inclusion.”

“This early commitment from Kum & Go at the Platinum sponsorship level sets a precedent that Capital City Pride is more than PrideFestival,” added Jansen. “PrideFestival is the culmination and celebration of our organization’s year round efforts.”

About Kum & Go

For nearly 60 years, Kum & Go has been dedicated to the communities it serves, sharing 10 percent of its profits with charitable causes. For four generations the family-owned convenience store chain has focused on providing exceptional service and delivering more than customers expect. Established in Hampton, Iowa, in 1959, the chain has since grown to employ more than 5,000 associates in nearly 400 stores in 11 states (Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming).