Passing the Torch to New Generations
Recognizing Leadership, Advocacy and Public Service with the Matthew B. Palazzolo Memorial Scholarship Fund, Matthew B. Palazzolo LGBTQ Equity Fund, and the Matthew B. Palazzolo Memorial Award for Excellence in Leadership and Public Service
Matt Palazzolo was an LGBTQ activist, accomplished actor, filmmaker and Bruin. An alumnus from the class of 2005, he was a Design and Media Arts major within the School of Arts & Architecture at UCLA.
Matt inspired many as a phenomenal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, co-founding the Equal Roots Coalition, an LGBTQ rights organization, and serving as a fierce community organizer in the 2008 "No on Prop 8” campaign. Most notably, in 2008 Matt organized a protest and rally drawing more than 12,000 people opposed to the ban on same-sex marriage.
On that night in West Hollywood when Matt delivered an impassioned speech, he spoke about the many struggles of marginalized people throughout the history of the United States. “Those stories inspired us to stand up for ourselves as LGBT people. It inspired me to stand up for myself as a gay man, as a gay Asian American man,” Matt said. “And now, if we keep marching and we keep talking and we keep sharing our stories, then one day, 20 years from now maybe, children will be reading about us and being inspired to stand up for themselves, for whoever they are.” Finally, as he had said many times before, “Let’s never be silent, never blend in.”
Matt’s words that night are especially prescient today, as the Matthew B. Palazzolo Memorial Scholarship Fund, LGBTQ Equity Fund and the annual Matthew B. Palazzolo Award for Excellence in Leadership and Public Service will help ensure that his legacy will continue to inspire young Bruins for years to come.
We would be thankful for your donations to Matt’s funds so that his efforts and legacy will continue to inspire leadership and courage among future generations of students here at UCLA. Find out more about Matt at UCLA Newsroom.
Matthew B. Palazzolo Memorial Scholarship Fund
Matthew B. Palazzolo LGBTQ Equity Fund
The Matthew B. Palazzolo Memorial Scholarship is a perpetual, annual need-based scholarship established in 2021 to provide financial support to students who have actively supported UCLA’s LGBTQ Center’s mission and vision to ensure that Matt’s passion for social justice and equality lives on through its recipients. Each contribution to this fund will ensure that the annual scholarship amount grows each year in perpetuity.
The Matthew B. Palazzolo LGBTQ Equity Fund, established in 2021, is allocated to the UCLA LGBTQ Campus Resource Center to address students’ (especially at-risk students) ever evolving needs through holistic, personalized and integrated assistance, which is essential to the success of students progressing towards their UCLA degrees. Each contribution to this fund will ensure that the resources for this program grow each year in perpetuity.
The Matthew B. Palazzolo Award for Excellence in Leadership and Public Service, first awarded in 2021, is awarded annually to a full time UCLA graduate or undergraduate student who has demonstrated excellence in leadership and advocacy for LGBTQ issues through public service.
Matthew’s Scholarship and Equity Funds are permanent endowments invested with and managed by the UCLA Foundation with the goal of ensuring that his funds will continue to provide scholarships and assistance in perpetuity. Each contribution allows the funds to achieve their goal of permanently increasing their annual scholarships and resources to UCLA students in need.