Candidate Forum. 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. In 2009, then mayoral candidate Mike McGinn was criticized for his "rude" treatment of GSBA staff members while attending that year's event. 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. 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. 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. 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. GSBA hosts an annual celebration of excellence, leadership, and philanthropy within the GSBA business and nonprofit communities. 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. 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. See also List of LGBT organizations References External links 501(c)(6) nonprofit organizations Business organizations based in the United States Economy of Seattle LGBT and the economy LGBT culture in Seattle LGBT political advocacy groups in Washington (state)