Happy Pride Month! Let’s come together to celebrate the resilience, achievements, and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. Pride Month is a time to uplift the progress made towards equality and to remind ourselves of the importance of standing together as a community. We acknowledge that our collective strength lies in our diversity.
Celebrate Pride Month in your local community and attend an event from the list below. Each event offers a unique way to honor and support the LGBTQ+ community while having fun and connecting with others. Join in the celebrations, show your pride, and help make a positive impact this month!
Disclaimer: Please be advised that we are neither partners nor sponsors of the events mentioned. We are not affiliated with, nor do we assume any responsibility for, these events. We are sharing this information solely for the purposes of entertainment and raising awareness.
Location: Boylston Street in Copley Square to South End via Clarendon and Tremont Street (Click here for full parade route)
Date: June 8th, 2024
Time: 8 – 11 AM
Description: Join Boston Pride for the People in celebrating the diversity and strength of the LGBTQ+ community, advocating for equality and inclusion, and honoring the brave individuals who have championed LGBTQ+ rights. This event features a festival, a parade, and a 21+ Block Party. The parade kicks off at 11 AM from Copley Square. For the full parade route and registration details, click here.
Description: Hosted by the Boston Theater Company (BTC), Road of Rainbows is an all-inclusive event inviting everyone to come together, get active, and “show off your inner unicorn.” Click here to register and view the full race map.
Location: 375 Merrimack Street to 40 French Street
Date: June 15, 2024
Time: 10 AM – 4 PM
Description: The Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) invites everyone to celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community with a full day of exciting events. The festivities begin with an LGBTQ+ Fund Brunch, followed by a flag-raising ceremony, a Pride parade, and a fun-filled Pride festival complete with delicious food and live music. For more information, click here.
Location: District Park, 120 Peck St (Click here for parade viewing locations)
Date: June 15, 2024
Time: 12 PM – 8 PM
Description: Rhode Island Pride is hosting one of New England’s largest LGBTQ+ events! The celebration features a vibrant festival showcasing LGBTQ+ and ally-owned businesses, local artisans, community organizations, and live entertainment. After the sun sets, there will be an illuminated parade that lights up the evening. Click here for more information and to register.
Description: Join the celebration of diversity with ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals For America) Boston! This unique event brings together the LGBTQIA+ and Latinx communities in a show of unity. It’s a great place to enhance your networking skills in an engaging and lively atmosphere. Don’t miss this special opportunity to connect and grow! Click here for more information and to register.
Nectar Community Investments small business client New England Counseling and Wellness PLLC recently closed on its second financing with us, which helped owner Johelly Chalas hire two new therapists and one administrator for her growing business. The first loan supported Johelly as she launched this much-needed bilingual mental health care facility for the Lawrence community. We chatted with Johelly and Small Business Loan Officer Saul Peña about Nectar’s approach to the loan process and its benefits for Johelly and her team.
Saul, can you walk us through Nectar’s loan process?
Saul Peña: After Johelly applied, we had an initial consultation to get a feel for her business and what her current needs were. That’s how we start all our loans. We also do a quick assessment and review documents, such as a balance sheet and a personal financial statement, so we can let the potential client know within a week whether we’re moving forward with the application. If we don’t, we’ll refer the business owner to an ecosystem partner for technical assistance.
If we do move forward with the loan, I like to dig into the details with our client, understand their plans for the financing and how it will help their business. …
Access to capital does not exist on a level playing field. To support underrepresented business owners with patient, longer-term financing capital, Nectar Community Investments launched the innovative Business Equity Investment Fund in 2022. Through the Fund, Nectar invested in and purchased equity in small businesses to support their long-term growth and development. Our investment went beyond dollars: we acted as a strategic partner, offering resources and experience to help entrepreneurs expand while giving them the freedom to run their business the way they wanted.
We’ve completed the initial phase of BEIF, and we were proud to support the Bay State Banner, NXGN Camps, Sweet Grace Heavenly Cakes and QMB Inc. during that period. What we learned through the BEIF will help inform our approach as we continue to innovate and find ways to invest in underrepresented entrepreneurs. To discover how we can support your small business, click here to read about our small business loans. You can also contact us with any questions.
We’re thrilled to share that the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) has awarded Nectar Community Investments a $50,000 EmPower Implementation grant to increase access to the benefits of clean energy and reduce the energy burden on historically underserved populations across Essex and Middlesex counties. MassCEC funding will support Nectar residential lending activities, including providing financing to low- and moderate-income homeowners for clean energy and energy efficiency upgrades, as well as ongoing community engagement efforts to increase awareness and education of available offerings.
As our Executive Director Glynn Lloyd wrote in this CommonWealth Beacon op-ed, a study from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy shows that low-income households face dramatically higher energy burdens – spending a larger share of their income on energy bills – than the average household. At the same time, programs for energy improvements have largely focused on electrifying or decarbonizing units in larger multifamily buildings rather than on single-family homes, and low-income communities are also vulnerable to predatory lending practices. Nectar offers flexible, innovative financing options that empower homeowners to save money, cut emissions, and ultimately enhance home quality and stability, and we’re grateful to MassCEC for its support and leadership as we continue to pursue this …
