About the Report

The Capital Pride Alliance needs reliable data on the economic impact of Pride celebrations in the National Capital Region (DMV). The Economic Impact Analysis report will be used directly to request funds from the DC government and bid to carry out the first ever World Pride Celebration held in DC. WorldPride, licensed by InterPride and organized by one of its members, is an event that promotes visibility and awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT pride) issues on an international level. WorldPride includes parades/marches, festivals and other cultural activities such as human rights conferences. DC has not hosted a World Pride celebration, but as a top ranked LGBTQ+ community and immensely diverse city, the Nation’s Capital is long overdue to showcase its incredible offerings.

Additionally, the Capital Pride Alliance is looking to provide qualitative data to launch the upcoming bid for World Pride in 2025, which entails securing allocated funding in partnership with the DC government. Having the numbers to support our community is a strategic imperative that brings the Capital Pride Alliance closer to its goals.

About the Survey

To achieve its short-and long-term goals, the Capital Pride Alliance partnered with the Volunteer Economic Impact Assessment team to collect, consolidate, and analyze reliable data that showcase the investment and value of Pride Celebrations to Washington, DC. The Medallia survey period was January 7, 2021 through February 5, 2021. It was distributed across various Capital Pride Alliance social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, through email distributions, and by word of mouth and resulted in 400+ respondents. Thank you to all survey respondents who took time to provide their thoughtful and candid submissions.

Survey Methodology

The economic impact survey and assessment involved three key steps for data collection, analysis, and production. First, the Volunteer Economic Impact Assessment team carried out a retroactive assessment analyzing spending behavior of 2019 Capital Pride attendees and determined the impact of local versus non-local participants. This streamlined approach helped the Capital Pride Alliance hone their understanding of what local resources were impacted during Capital Pride including: accommodation, food and beverage, entertainment, tourism, and transportation. After identifying what industries and data points would be most beneficial, the volunteer Economic Impact Assessment team crafted and distributed the survey through Medallia’s survey platform to over 400 respondents.

Economic multiplier data was then used to extrapolate the findings and assess the overall economic impact of Capital Pride events, in terms of dollars spent and jobs created. The total dollar amount reported by survey respondents within an industry is multiplied by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)-provided Regional Input-Output Modeling System (RIMS II) multiplier(s) to produce the total economic impact. Overall, the results of RIMS II indicate that an initial change in economic activity results in other rounds of additional spending and employment. RIMS II multipliers are provided via fee for service by the BEA. The results of the survey provide the quantitative basis from which to project the economic impact assessment of Capital Pride.

Additionally, the team carried out a series of qualitative interviews with local businesses to collect direct, nuanced feedback from the industries and organizations that partner with Capital Pride.

Economic Impact Approach

This economic impact analysis was conducted in the DMV region. This region is defined as: District of Columbia; Calvert, MD; Charles, MD; Frederick, MD; Montgomery, MD; Prince George’s, MD; Arlington, VA; Clarke, VA; Culpeper, VA; Fauquier, VA; Loudoun, VA; Madison, VA; Rappahannock, VA; Stafford, VA; Warren, VA; Alexandria (Independent City), VA; Fairfax, Fairfax City and Falls Church, VA; Prince William, Manassas and Manassas Park, VA; Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg, VA; and Jefferson, WV.

The survey data combined with economic information resulted in the final economic analysis, which was based on regional economic multipliers utilizing the 2012 Benchmark Input-Output Table for the Nation and 2018 DMV regional data. The Regional Product Division of the BEA provided the RIMS Type II multipliers, which utilize the location quotient method for estimating Regional Purchase Coefficients. Each multiplier for an industry represents the total dollar change in the output that occurs in all industries. For each additional dollar of the output, the delivered final demand by the industry corresponds with the respective Capital Pride survey economic impact. Note, this method does not correct for cross-hauling (the simultaneous exporting and importing of a given commodity), so it likely underestimates inter-regional economic impacts. Also, RIMS II uses a single household spending pattern for induced personal consumption.