Victory Fund Harvard program gets $800,000 boost

“So much is at stake for the next wave of LGBT leaders, and the Leadership Fellows program reflects this pivotal period,” said David Bohnett. (Photo by Matthew Imaging via Wikimedia Commons)

BOSTON — The David Bohnett Foundation, which has for 10 years funded the Victory Fund’s LGBT Leadership Fellows Program — a program that sends senior LGBT leaders to attend executive education programs at the Harvard Kennedy School — has approved an $800,000 grant for the continuance of the program.

“So much is at stake for the next wave of LGBT leaders, and the Leadership Fellows program reflects this pivotal period,” said Bohnett, the philanthropist and entrepreneur namesake of the program designed to create a group of outstanding LGBT public officials with the skills and ability to take on substantial leadership roles in their communities. “It empowers LGBT leaders who are making a difference in the world—it hones their skills and furthers their leadership potential.”

Of the 100 LGBT recipients of the award, past fellows include Houston Mayor Annise Parker, and retiring New York State Sen. Tom Duane, whose same-sex marriage bill became law in 2011.