Here’s How Kids Are Used To Spread LGBT Agenda In Red States

Among the rolling hills and twisting rivers of central Indiana stands a bustling city named Carmel. The town is split almost 50-50 Republican and Democrat, which stands out in the largely conservative state where only four out of 92 counties lean Democrat. Yet the city is still small enough, rural enough, that one would not expect an inconspicuous “pride” festival that popped up in 2021 to become the second-largest such event in the state, attracting an estimated 6,000 people last year and hosting a former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant this year.

The question is, how? How does LGBT propaganda infiltrate conservative states and areas, turning them into sensual celebration grounds? The answer: through children backed by big billionaires.

The annual Carmel Pride Festival started in 2021 when a group of high schoolers in the Gender and Sexuality Alliance club (GSA) at their local school decided to create a “pride month” celebration for the city. Around 2,500 people showed up at the modest student-run celebration. The next year, the group of teenagers reached out to It Gets Better and received $10,000 to put toward their next “pride” event.

It Gets Better is a nonprofit organization that targets children to promote LGBT ideologies “to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth around the globe,” its website states. Through its 50 States. 50 Grants. 5000 Voices program, the organization gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to “middle and high schools throughout the United States” to support “projects that uplift and empower LGBTQ+ students.” While reporting on the grant project, PR Newswire bragged that the money went to “many traditionally conservative areas.”

The GSA club in Carmel seems to have received continual funding since 2022 from It Gets Better. An article from 2022 confirms the club received another $10,000 in support for the 2023 event, and the Carmel Pride website currently gives “a big thank you” to It Gets Better under the list of 2025 donors. The left-wing activist group the American Civil Liberties Union and the “gay-owned” pro-LGBT surrogacy agency New Dawn are also listed among the donors.

One of It Gets Better’s biggest donors is American Eagle. On It Gets Better’s financials, it lists American Eagle as a “Ground Shaker” for giving more than $100,000 in 2024 alone. The fashion company recently tried to appeal to conservatives through its Sydney Sweeney ads.

A vast swath of cosmetic brands that support LGBT marketing also back It Gets Better, including MAC VIVA GLAM under the Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation, Bath & Body Works, e.l.f. Cosmetics, and Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation, among many others. The latter two organizations gave at least $50,000, while the other contributed $100,000 or more in the past year.

One common denominator between the cosmetic brands and American Eagle is their ties to BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, or the “Big Three.” The asset firms hold about a fourth of each of the above companies that fund It Gets Better when their shares are combined, and all three firms are known for pushing leftist ideology.

The GSA club at Carmel High School ran the sixth annual Carmel Pride Festival Sunday. The staff members for the event were primarily youths aged 12 to 18, along with a small board of adults, and Carmel Pride’s website indicates the lion’s share of the funding for this event came from It Gets Better and the big companies behind them.

The Federalist asked Estée Lauder Companies and American Eagle about their giving to It Gets Better and the potential of children being exposed to sexual material at “pride” events funded by It Gets Better, but did not receive a response. The Federalist contacted Carmel Clay Schools to inquire why it allows a sex-themed club for minors and requested a comment from Carmel Pride on whether it has any policies to reduce minors’ exposure to sexual content at its events. Neither responded.