Coordinates: 47°36′55″N 122°19′35″W / 47.615278°N 122.326329°W / 47.615278; -122.326329

Greater Seattle Business Association

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GSBA - Washington States LGBTQ & Allied Chamber of Commerce
Formation1981
TypeChamber of Commerce
Legal statusNon-Profit, 501(c)(6)
Scholarship Program, 501(c)(3)
PurposeThe Four Pillars of GSBA: Business Development, Community, Advocacy, Philanthropy
Location
Region served
Puget Sound, Washington
Membership
1,400 (approx)
President & CEO
Ilona Lohrey
Key people
Carrie Carson
Board Chair
Main organ
Board of Directors[1]
Staff
12
Volunteers
100-200 annually
Websitethegsba.org

The Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) is an LGBTQ+ chamber of commerce based in Seattle, Washington. The majority of the organization's membership are small businesses located throughout the Puget Sound area. The association's stated mission is "to combine business development, leadership and social action to expand economic opportunities for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community and those who support equality for all."[2]

History

GSBA was stablished in 1981. It represents over 1,300 small business, corporate, and nonprofit members.

In 1992, GSBA formed the Western Business Alliance in partnership with the Greater San Diego Business Association and the Camelback Business Association of Phoenix. In 1997, the WBA brought together 21 LGBT-and-allied organizations—from Vancouver, British Columbia, in the north, to Tijuana, Mexico, in the south. With the establishment of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in 2004 (of which GSBA was a founding member), GSBA's current executive director, Louise Chernin, was appointed National Chair on the Council on Chambers and Business Organizations (CCBO), a position she held for four years. The following year, the WBA voted in favor of folding into the NGLCC's CCBO structure as the Pacific Regional Council.[3]

Gay Wedding Show

GSBA was the presenting sponsor of the first Gay Wedding Show in 2004. Held at Seattle's Swedish Cultural Center, the event hosted 50 vendors and was the first of its kind in Seattle.[4]

Awards

In November 2008, GSBA was awarded "Chamber of the Year" by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) in Washington, D.C., recognizing its leadership among more than 45 other regional LGBT and allied chambers.[5] In 2009, GSBA was the host affiliate chamber for NGLCC's Sixth Annual Out for Business Conference, held in Seattle. That year, GSBA received the "Community Outreach Award" for its scholarship program.[6]

Activities

Marriage equality

In 2006, when efforts were undertaken to repeal Washington's non-discrimination law through public referendum, GSBA stood alongside other organizations in support of Washington Won't Discriminate, a group opposing the referendum.[7] In 2009, enough signatures were obtained by put Referendum 71 on that year's general election ballot. This referendum would have overturned the state's third and final expansion of domestic partnership law passed by the legislature earlier that year. GSBA was among 282 coalition partners of Washington Families Standing Together, the organization that led the campaign to approve Referendum 71.[8]

Candidate forum

Every September, the organization holds a debate-like program, the GSBA Candidate Forum.[9] The event is billed as "the region's only LGBT candidate forum". The forum has featured candidates from local races such as city and county councils as well as larger offices including Washington Governor and U.S. House of Representatives.[10]

In 2009, then mayoral candidate Mike McGinn was criticized for his "rude" treatment of GSBA staff members while attending that year's event.[11] Subsequently, he won the 2009 election.

Scholarship program

In 1990, two teachers saw a need for LGBT and allied students who needed financial assistance with higher education expenses. At the time it was the nation's first LGBT and allied scholarship fund. Six years into the program, the organization had granted five scholarships totaling $10,000.[12] In 1998, Richard C. Rolfs (a Wenatchee-native and longtime gay rights activist) bequeathed $200,000 to the GSBA Scholarship Fund, establishing an endowment in his name. By 2001, the program was granting more than $50,000 each year in undergraduate scholarships.[13]

The GSBA Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to LGBTQ and allied students who exhibit leadership potential, demonstrate strong academic abilities, and are actively involved in school and community organizations. Founded in 1991, the GSBA Scholarship Fund has awarded over 650 scholarships totaling over $3 million.[14]

In May 2010, at the Annual Scholarship Awards Dinner, GSBA gave out its one millionth dollar ($1,000,000) in cumulative scholarship grants. The following November the primary fundraising event for the program, The Taste of GSBA, grossed $345,000 from the dinner auction.[15][16]

GSBA hosts an annual celebration of excellence, leadership, and philanthropy within the GSBA business and nonprofit communities.[17]

The association participates each year in Seattle's LGBT pride festivities. In 2006 graphic designer Andrea Rouleau designed a birthday cake float to celebrate GSBA's 25th anniversary.[18]

Pandemic support for businesses

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, GSBA worked with large employers and private donors in the Seattle area to provide financial assistance to local small businesses that were struggling due to the pandemic. This assistance is credited with saving local businesses and preventing them from closing.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ GSBA Board & Staff - GSBA website
  2. ^ "About Us". www.thegsba.org. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  3. ^ INBA – Spokane’s LGBT business chamber working to get to the next level Archived 2012-04-02 at the Wayback Machine - insandouts.org, May 20, 2011
  4. ^ Booming wedding industry poised to tap into growing market for gay marriages - Seattle Times, Friday, March 26, 2004
  5. ^ The Insider: Network Strong - Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 16, 2008
  6. ^ NGLCC's Sixth Annual Business & Leadership Conference a Great Success! Archived 2011-08-04 at the Wayback Machine - NGLCC Press Release, June 25, 2008
  7. ^ Effort to repeal state gay-rights law gathers momentum from pulpit, Seattle Times, May 24, 2006
  8. ^ Coalition partners - Washington Families Standing Together, campaign website
  9. ^ - GSBA & ERW host 2010 candidate forum Archived 2012-11-02 at the Wayback Machine - Seattle Gay News, September 24, 2010
  10. ^ - Gregoire & Burner at GSBA Candidate Forum - Republicans play hide-and-seek Archived 2012-11-02 at the Wayback Machine - Seattle Gay News, September 5, 2008
  11. ^ Extra Fizz: McGinn and the GSBA Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine - Publicola, October 8, 2009
  12. ^ $10,000 In Scholarships Awarded Archived 2012-06-06 at the Wayback Machine - Seattle Times, Thursday, May 09, 1996
  13. ^ Business group issues scholarships for gay students - Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Thursday, May 3, 2001
  14. ^ "About the Fund". www.thegsba.org. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  15. ^ GSBA gala dinner and auction raises record $345,000 Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine - Seattle Gay News, November 19, 2010
  16. ^ GSBA Scholarship Fund - The Seattle Foundation, nonprofit organization profiles
  17. ^ Maier, Florentine (2011), "Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leaders: The Becoming Business-Like of the Philanthropy Sector", Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations: A Reference Handbook, SAGE Publications, Inc., pp. 484–490, doi:10.4135/9781412979320.n54, ISBN 9781412968867
  18. ^ Gay pride events multiply - Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Friday, June 23, 2006 [dead link]
  19. ^ "How a local nonprofit saved a Seattle bakery". KING-TV. March 30, 2021.

External links

47°36′55″N 122°19′35″W / 47.615278°N 122.326329°W / 47.615278; -122.326329

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