Pride Community Foundation (PCF) and Brighton & Hove Pride CIC are two separate, independently governed organisations with a close and transparent relationship.
Brighton Pride created PCF and raises the majority of PCF's income through the annual Pride festival, donating funds after covering its own operating costs. That money is a straightforward donation -- once transferred, Brighton Pride has no say over how it is spent.
Both organisations are Community Interest Companies, meaning neither can ever be sold or wound down for private gain. If either organisation were to close, its assets would pass to the other, keeping everything permanently in community hands.
Brighton Pride holds two of the seats on the PCF board. This is a minority position. It gives Brighton Pride a voice in PCF's strategic direction but no control over grant-making decisions, which are made independently by PCF's Grants and Advisory Board.
The two organisations also work together on Pride City Angels, the Annual Pride Breakfast, shared communications channels, and are both based at the Ironworks Studios in Brighton.
The Pride Community Foundation CIC (PCF) is an independent community interest company whose purpose is to strengthen and sustain theLGBTQ+ community in Brighton & Hove and beyond. PCF does this through three interconnected pillars: grant-making and community investment; media and platform work, including Scene Magazine and Pride City Angels; and advocacy, policy and research.
Brighton & Hove Pride CIC (Brighton Pride) is the organisation that plans and delivers the annual Brighton & Hove Pride festival, one of the United Kingdom's largest Pride events, held each August.Brighton Pride was the organisation that originally established PCF and provided its founding seed investment.
This document sets out the relationship between the two organisations: how we are connected, how we work together, and how each organisation maintains its independence.
Both organisations are registered as Community Interest Companies(CICs), a legal form designed to ensure that an organisation's assets and activities serve the public benefit rather than private individuals. A key feature of the CIC structure is the asset lock.
What the asset lock means in plain terms: neither organisation can be sold, wound down for private gain, or have its resources redirected away from community benefit. If PCF were ever to close, its remaining assets would pass to Brighton Pride. This mutual arrangement ensures that the resources built up by both organisations remain permanently in community hands, whatever happens.
Brighton Pride holds two seats on the PCF Board of Directors.This is a minority position within the board and gives Brighton Pride a voice in PCF's strategic direction and a direct line into scrutinising how grant-making decisions are made. It does not give Brighton Pride control overPCF, and it does not give Brighton Pride any influence over which organisations receive grants or how community funds are distributed. The majority of the PCF board is composed of independent directors with no affiliation to BrightonPride.
Each year, Brighton Pride raises money during the Pride festival weekend in August. The fundraising that takes place during the Pride weekend includes a minimum of £2 per-ticket as well as contributions from the OfficialPride Parties scheme through which commercial event organisers direct a portion of proceeds to PCF to carry the Official Pride designation and the joint CityAngles project This scheme was previously managed by Brighton Pride and has since transferred to PCF as a shared partnership project.
The annual transfer is a donation. Once Brighton Pride has made its donation to PCF, those funds belong to PCF entirely. There are no conditions, restrictions, or agreements that determine how PCF must spend or distribute the money. Brighton Pride does not direct, earmark, or retain influence over donated funds. Decisions about how community investment is made from those funds rest with PCF alone, through its independent grant-making governance structures.
PCF's grant-making decisions are made by its Grants and AdvisoryBoard (GAB), an independent body established specifically to ensure that community investment is made fairly, transparently and at arm's length fromPCF's leadership and major funders. The GAB designs each grants round, sets priorities, and assesses applications. It is separate from the PCF Board ofDirectors.
This structure means that the organisations and communities who receive support from PCF are chosen on the basis of community need and merit, not on the basis of who funds PCF.
Beyond the structural relationship, PCF and Brighton Pride collaborate on a number of projects and activities that reflect their shared commitment to a vibrant, visible and well-supported LGBTQ+ community:
•      Pride City Angels is a joint project run in partnership by PCF and Brighton Pride. It is a network of LGBTQ+ inclusive businesses and organisations, building commercial and civic relationships that support the broader community.
•      The Annual Pride Breakfast is led by PCF and brings together civic leaders, elected officials and community figures at the start of the Pride weekend. It is a flagship moment for community convening and advocacy.
•      Shared facilities: PCF uses the IronworksStudios, 30 Cheapside, Brighton as its registered address with Companies House and has access to facilities there. Brighton Pride is also based at theIronworks. PCF staff work predominantly remotely, but the shared address reflects the practical connection between the two organisations.
•      Communications and community reach: both organisations use each other's communications and marketing channels to extend their reach into LGBTQ+ communities across Brighton & Hove and beyond, ensuring that community news, opportunities and services reach as many people as possible.
PCF and Brighton Pride are distinct organisations, independently governed, with different roles. But they share a common origin and a common cause: ensuring that Brighton & Hove remains a place where LGBTQ+ people can live, celebrate and thrive, and that the resources generated by the Pride movement are reinvested into the communities that make it possible.
This partnership framework reflects that shared purpose. It is designed to be transparent about the relationship between the two organisations, and to give community members, funders and partners confidence that both organisations operate with integrity, independence and a clear commitment to community benefit.