Boston Pride Launches Community Fund, Announces Winners of 2015 Pride Parade and Voting on 2016 Pride Themes

Boston Pride has launched its first Community Fund to provide financial resources to small nonprofits and other groups that support the LGBT community. The announcement was made at Boston Pride's Fall Open House on Thursday, October 22 by Boston Pride President Sylvian Bruni and Vice President Linda DeMarco.

"One of Boston Pride's goals over the past few years has been to create program to provide financial support for small nonprofits and organizations in the LGBT community," said Sylvain Bruni, President of Boston Pride. "We have raised funds through various Pride events and are dedicating those to the new Community Fund as a way to give back."

Boston Pride Vice President Linda DeMarco says that the organization is committed to assisting other LGBT groups that will benefit from small grants to help them continue their work in the community. "We are very excited to announce the Community Fund, as we know that even a small amount of funding can make a big difference," she said.

The Community Fund will distribute grants ranging anywhere from $500 to $2,000. Applications are open from November 1 to November 30 and will be announced in January. To apply for a grant, please visit www.bostonpride.org/fund.

The winners of the 2015 Pride Parade awards were also announced at the Open House by Parade Chair Martha Plaza. Prizes were awarded for Best Marching Group, Best Float and Best Adaptation of Theme. With over 500,000 spectators lining the 2.27-mile long route to cheer on upwards of 35,000 marchers from over 240 participating groups, the annual Boston Pride Parade is the city's largest and most diverse.

The winner for Best Marching Group was Fitchburg State Gay Straight Alliance, with Northeastern University's NU Pride as the runner-up. Biogen won the award for Best Float, with DotOUT coming in a close second. Best Adaptation of Theme was awarded to Novartis with MGH/Brigham and Women's Hospital as the runner-up. Representatives from all of these groups were in attendance at the Boston Pride open house to receive their awards.

Boston Pride also announced the slate of community-nominated themes for 2016.Members of the community are, as always, invited to vote to select the Pride Week theme. The choices are: