GSBA Scholarship & Education Fund Application 2026-2027

Welcome to GSBA Scholarship! We're glad you found us!

The GSBA Scholarship & Education Fund strives to uplift rising LGBTQ+ and actively allied leaders from Washington State as they pursue their post-secondary education. To our scholars, we offer financial awards, typically between $5,500-$13,000, educational programming, networking events, field trips, job shadows, a summer weekend retreat, and a supportive community – whether you're working towards a trade, certificate, 2-year degree, or 4-year degree. 

All applications are due by 12 p.m. PST

on Friday, January 9, 2026. 

To be fair to all applicants, we will not accept late applications. When you submit your application, you will receive an email confirmation. If you have any questions or need assistance with this application, please reach out to scholarship@thegsba.org.

Before you begin, please review our Frequently Asked Questions below. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is in the application? What will I need to prepare?

The application consists of a series of basic questions about you, your academic history, your educational goals, as well as four essay questions and three file uploads. You'll want to prepare to submit your resume, your most recent academic transcript, and an optional letter of recommendation. You might also want to prepare your essay responses ahead of time, so you can copy and paste them into their respective fields on the application. Essay responses are capped at 500 words and you can get an overview of each of them using our "Before You Begin" Scholarship Application Checklist on our FAQ page.

How do I know if I qualify for the GSBA Scholarship? 

To qualify for the GSBA Scholarship & Education Fund, you must be attending or planning to attend an accredited program, be a Washington resident, and have a clear vision for how you can & will contribute to uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community in the future. Not sure if your school is accredited? Check to see if it is on this list of known accredited institutions or check for evidence within the school that they are viewed as an accredited institution.

Will my application progress be saved if I don't finish all at once?

Yes! When you want to save and exit the application, scroll to the bottom of the page to select "Save". This will pop up a window that advises you to login to Jotform to save if you have an account. If you do not have a Jotform account, you can click "Skip Create an Account" at the bottom to get a link to your draft or send the link to your email. You can reaccess this link to return to your partially complete draft. 

What is the policy around using AI?

While AI can be a useful editing tool, we want responses to be written with your authentic voice. Submissions that appear to include mostly or entirely AI generated content may be disqualified.

Click here to see more FAQ's.

Below, provide at least one email that you check frequently below. For those with school emails, be aware that we cannot email/communicate with high school email accounts. Our communications will be blocked, so we recommend using a personal email that you check frequently. College/university emails are also acceptable.

Washington State Residency

To receive a GSBA Scholarship, you must be a Washington State resident, though scholars may study at any accredited college, university, or other educational institution. Applicants are considered a resident if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Have lived in Washington since September 2025 or earlier
• Have lived in Washington for at least one year at any time in the past five years (2020-2025)
• Have lived in Washington for more than one year at any time, and left Washington to attend post-secondary education at a school in another state

If you are unsure if your experience fits the criteria above, email us at scholarship@thegsba.org before applying.

Workforce Development Scholarship Criteria

Alongside our college/university scholarships, we have a scholarship that specifically focuses on workforce development. These are 1-2 year academic programs focused on services and trades that are in great economic need in Washington State. The following certificate or degree programs are applicable:

• Culinary/pastry/food service
• Aerospace manufacturing
• Dental hygiene
• Certified nursing assisting (CNA)
• Automotive service technology
• Electrical technology
• Industrial technology
• Paraeducation
• Healthcare technology (medical, laboratory, pharmacy, psychiatric, veterinary, occupational, physical therapy)
• Phlebotomy
• Firefighting/emergency medical technology (EMT)
• Police/security/correctional enforcement
• Cosmetology/barbering/electrolysis
• Wind/solar service technology
• Piloting (air, water)

Here are some examples, but essentially, we want to know how many years of funding you'll need to reach graduatation.

• If you will be starting a four-year degree in the 2026-2027 academic year, select "4 years"
• If you will be a second-year student in a four-year degree in the 2026-2027 academic year, select "3 years"
• If you will be a second-year student in a two-year degree in the 2026-2027 academic year, select "1 year"

How will essay responses be evaluated?

Responses to essay questions are evaluated for detail and clarity in their responses, using a 1-5 point scale: 

5 - fully answered this area with detail.
4 - mostly, but could have added more clarity and/or specific details. 
3 - yes, and have several lingering questions. 
2 - a start, but is lacking focus and/or detail. 
1 - response is written, but does not address the question asked.

Each essay response has a maximum word count of 500.

Essay #1: Academic & Career Goals

Describe your educational and career goals for the coming academic year (2026-27). What do you/will you be studying? What are your goals or plans post-graduation? 

Essay #2: Community Participation

Describe your involvement in at least one of your communities (LGBTQ+, racial/ethnic communities, religious, and/or social groups are all examples of community).

• How did you come to be involved? 
• What was your role? How did you contribute? 
• What have you learned from your involvement? 
• If your situation does not allow for such opportunities, what has gotten in the way of your participation? How would you like to participate in the future?

Essay #3: Connection to LGBTQ+ Community

What do you believe to be an important issue challenging the LGBTQ+ community? 

• This can be an issue challenging you personally as a LGBTQ+ applicant or as an active ally with insight to issues and challenges to/in the LGBTQ+ community. 
• Describe the challenge, and how you want to actively contribute to combating it.

Essay #4: Financial Need

What is the gap between the resources you have access to and what you need to make school possible? Please include as much specific information as you can in response to the following questions:

• What are your costs for school?
• What are your other financial responsibilities outside of your education, such as family expenses, housing, transportation, medical costs, earlier school loans, etc.?
• What financial aid, other scholarships, or grants do you already have?
• Will you receive any financial support from family, friends, and/or other resources?

Academic Transcript
Please upload an official or unofficial copy of your most recent transcript. Your transcript must be uploaded as a PDF, DOC, or DOCX file. If you are having any trouble uploading your transcript, please send it directly to GSBA at scholarship@thegsba.org. In that email, be sure to let us know that you are a 2026-27 applicant and the name used on the application. 

Please title the file using the following format: FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_TRANSCRIPT

Resume

Please upload a copy for your resume. Your resume must be uploaded as a PDF, DOC, or DOCX file.

Please title the file using the following format: FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_RESUME

Letter of Recommendation (Optional)

If you choose, you can upload a Letter of Recommendation to accompany your application. The letter should come from someone who can speak to your best qualities and who is not a family member. This could be a teacher, coach, mentor, supervisor, or religious leader. The letter must be uploaded as a PDF, DOC, or DOCX file.

Please title the file using the following format: FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_LETTER