GSBA Scholarship Fund Programs
Today we have scholars all over the world working in science, technology, and education. Our scholars have served as congressional aids in Washington and Olympia, lobbied for health care and immigration reform, and graduated from top-tiered universities. Our scholars are truly making differences in our communities.
GSBA realizes that today's students are tomorrow's leaders and is committed to supporting our community's future leaders by providing financial resources, role-modeling and hope to outstanding LGBTQA students.
In the 22 years of the GSBA Scholarship Fund, we have awarded over $1.4 million dollars to over 300 students. This year, we supported 40 scholars with $165,000 worth of educational scholarships.
We will recruit over 80 volunteers to screen, interview and select our scholarship recipients. Our scholarships are presented to our scholars at the annual Scholarship Awards Dinner held in May. Students will be recognized in front of an audience of 400 community and business leaders.
Our annual TASTE of GSBA Benefit and Auction is our major fundraiser for the Scholarship Fund. Last year we raised over $345,000 in support of our future leaders. This year, we aim to raise $400,000 for our students on November 17, 2012 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
During the 2012-2013 scholarship cycle, we received 265 applications. A team of 90 read, reviewed, and interviewed candidates and awarded scholarships to 40 students. We had to turn away so many students, as the need far outweighed the money we had available. We award scholarship ranging from $3,000-$10,000 and the average award this year is just under $4,000. However, these generous scholarships did not meet the financial need of our students. With increased funds, we can not only help more students, but also make a larger impact on those students we do support.