The GSBA is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit chamber of commerce created for one sole purpose: to advocate for the advancement and protection of LGBTQIA+ businesses and organizations.
Founded in 1981 by nine Gay business owners, including insurance agents, attorneys, and bar and bathhouse owners, GSBA was initially formed as a networking group. Over time, the organization evolved into a platform from which Queer business leaders could advocate for protections in the city’s public agencies like the fire and police departments, as well as build up the overall economic power of the community. In 1991, its members also founded the first LGBTQ+ Scholarship Fund, which has since awarded over $7 million to hundreds of students.
With its office still on Capitol Hill today, located just above Gay City: Seattle LGBTQ+ Center, the GSBA continues its long-standing mission of serving the community. Now the largest LGBTQ+ and allied chamber of commerce in the US, it boasts a diverse of membership of leaders and businesses. According to its Who We Are web page, the organization states, “We represent small business, corporate, and nonprofit members who share the values of promoting equality and diversity in the workplace.”
In light of SGN’s “Home & Finance” issue, the GSBA’s senior membership development manager, Alison Scott, gave an in-depth interview to showcase the array of services and events the organization offers its members, and shared what it’s like to work at Seattle’s LGBTQIA+ chamber of commerce.
New GSBA team
Scott started her current role with the GSBA in May, having previously served the organization as a volunteer. As a self-professed strong ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, she said that hearing the story of scholarship recipient Danny Cords is what got her hooked on working for the organization. Cords was sent to a Gay “conversion” camp as a kid but used his scholarship to help turn his life around. He has since gone on to become a member of the GSBA executive board. “Many applicants to GSBA’s scholarship program have a tough story to share,” she said.
Scott said that two other people joined the GSBA team in 2025: Jen Carl (Capitol Hill neighborhood safety coordinator) and Cortney Gosset (communications and events specialist). In the months since Scott became GSBA’s senior membership development manager, she has hit the ground running, helping to put on new projects for the organization.
For example, the Just Walk In program was created last summer as a Capitol Hill “passport,” with which customers could go to participating businesses, receive stamps, and earn prizes. Of running the program, Scott said, “For being newish to the team, it was a really fun opportunity to meet people in person.” She also said that feedback from businesses and customers was positive.
Work environment
As for what the environment is like as an employee of the GSBA, Scott described the schedule as a hybrid-work system. Like many modern workplaces, the GSBA relies heavily on Microsoft Teams to stay connected remotely, as she explained, “so that everybody has a feel for who is doing what.”
Despite this, Scott pointed out that the organization makes a concerted effort to keep its workers connected, with everyone coming in to the office on Mondays for instance, since the team is constantly out visiting its members. Scott emphasized the importance of having these face-to-face interactions with members to build business relationships, noting that it is “very different to sit down in person with members to talk about business than over a phone call.”
Scott said the GSBA prides itself on being a compassionate work environment, promoting a good work-life balance with its staff, and making sure people take care of themselves. One example is giving the staff the Monday after Pride off, affectionally called “Gaybor-Day.” The same goes for the Monday after the GSBA’s Equalux gala. “The team is working really hard during these tough times,” Scott acknowledged.
Membership
GSBA offers its members an array of services, from consulting and advertising to being added to its business directory and invitations to its networking events. The organization includes business of all sizes, from the micro to corporations, including what it calls a “Friends of GSBA” membership for individuals who aren’t part of a business or group but still want to be involved. New businesses get half off the membership fee in their first year, in acknowledgment of the struggle they go through getting off the ground. “I understand that I’m asking members to share their sparse, hard-earned budget for [membership],” Scott said.
However, part of the GSBA’s hope, Scott said, is that once new business members experience all the services and opportunities at their disposal, when it comes time for them to renew at full price, “it’s a no-brainer.”
But Scott also pointed out that membership with the GSBA is a two-way street. Those who engage more with the organization, whether it be attending events or fully filling out their directory entry, are more likely to maximize their benefits. “The more they engage with us, the more we can keep them top of mind,” she said.
Scott gave several reasons for why membership with the GSBA is not only beneficial but important from an advocacy standpoint. In her view, even if a company or business isn’t LGBTQ+ owned, many have Queer customers, especially in Seattle. According to her, a GSBA membership can help them to better support those customers. In addition, being a member of the GSBA can encourage LGBTQ+ applicants to work at that business, even if the applicants are just allies whose values align.
Scott acknowledged that although the GSBA was blessed to be in a city and neighborhood that is very Queer-affirming, the organization has also been struggling with the current political climate of corporations backing away from supporting Queer causes. She said that, since the beginning of the year, “some corporate members feel pressured not to be more visibly involved with the GSBA.”
However, others have recently been stepping up; for example, Uber became the title sponsor of Equalux. Scott said the GSBA leadership team recently came back from a national conference, where she met other LGBTQ+ business organizations that were smaller and located in more unwelcoming parts of the country. Although she commended them for fighting the good fight, she also expressed gratefulness for how much the Queer community is celebrated here in Seattle.
Events
Scott mentioned several upcoming events the GSBA has in store for 2025. On October 7, the organization will host a Hill Talk event at Capitale Pizzeria, as a free and informal get-together for businesses and community organizations to meet each other; it also gives the GSBA a chance to highlight a member. Scott said the event is “truly open to anyone wanting to come and meet.”
In contrast, Scott said that the GSBA will also host a more formal Power Connect event on October 21 at the Space Needle, to “make lasting business relationships” and “experience the power of meaningful networking with LGBTQ+ and allied business and community leaders,” according to the website, where tickets to the event are available.
Then, on November 8, the GSBA will hold its biggest fundraising event of the year, Equalux. Scott explained that the dinner and silent auction event helps to support the organization's Scholarship & Education Fund, one of whose scholarships is Food Is Love, created after the passing of Tamara Murphy of Terra Plata, to help recipients pay for culinary school. She also highlighted the Build With Pride scholarship for students interested in construction and architecture. The fund helps support students in both two- and four-year colleges, and Scott revealed that the GSBA had recently added trade school programs to the scholarship program.
Finally, Scott emphasized the need for LGBTQIA+ groups to connect, now more than ever. She said people at the GSBA office have been embracing a new mantra: “Joy is a form of rebellion.”
Information regarding GSBA membership and event tickets can be found at www.thegsba.org.
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