The Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) is the largest business chamber of its kind in the United States, and the second largest business chamber in Washington State. Since 1981, GSBA has been proudly serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied (LGBTA) business and nonprofit community.

Our mission is combining business development and social action to expand economic opportunities for our members, the LGBT community and those who support us.

How we started the GSBA Scholarship Fund
In 1990, two GSBA member teachers realized a great need to support LGBTA students. Often such students, most belonging to a marginalized group, often had no family support or financial aid from more traditional sources.

From that insight, Mary Ann Bailey and Linda Bakken founded the GSBA Scholarship Fund, the first of its kind in the United States. The GSBA Scholarship Fund was created for the purpose of providing financial support to LGBTA youth or the youth of LGBT families.

The GSBA Scholarship Fund has grown and expanded its reach and mission to now include scholarships for students of any age who are LGBT or who come from LGBT families or allied students committed to achieving civil rights for all.

How much money do we award? A lot.
The GSBA Scholarship Fund has awarded more than 200 grants totaling more than $550,000 since the program's inception in 1990. Together with the Pride Foundation, both organizations have granted out more than $1.5 dollars to LGBTA students. GSBA Scholarship awards range in size from $2,500 to $10,000 and are meant to provide significant support to students who often have little support from other sources.

Where the money comes from
As leaders, GSBA members and donors are committed to investing in tomorrow's leaders today. Since 1990, hundreds of GSBA Scholarship supporters have built a fund valued at more than $500,000. In addition, a generous bequest by Richard Rolfs, a committed community activist, created a $200,000 endowment in 1998 (named for him). The funds are invested under the supervision of the GSBA Scholarship Committee and Board of Directors.

Our collaboration with Pride Foundation
GSBA and Pride Foundation are proud of their collaborative efforts. In 1993, the Pride Foundation started its own Scholarship Fund and joined forces with GSBA. This enabled students to complete one application to compete for scholarships from both organizations.

Although the application process and interview scheduling is a joint effort, both organizations are independent in terms of fundraising, interview teams and the actual granting out of scholarship awards.

The GSBA Scholarship Program supports Washington State undergraduate students. The Pride Foundation Scholarship Program supports undergraduate through graduate school students from the five Northwest states (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington).

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