Garden Club of America has funded more than 1400 scholars since the Rome Prize Fellowship in Landscape Architecture was established in 1928.  2024 is a banner year for GCA Scholarships.  One hundred scholars have been awarded a record total of $459,000 in scholarship monies. 1,800 scholarships have been awarded to date.

Twenty-seven merit-based scholarships are offered. Fields of study include botany, coastal wetlands studies, conservation and ecological restoration, desert studies, garden history and design, horticulture, international work and study, landscape architecture, native bird habitat, pollinator research, summer environmental study, and urban forestry.

Of particular interest to Arizona Columbine Garden Club is the The Garden Club of America Award in Desert Studies, which was funded by Columbine member Nancy Swanson.  The Arizona Columbine Garden Club continues to financially support this scholarship on an annual basis. The award is administered by the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and is designed to further botany, environmental science, horticulture, and landscape design relating to an arid landscape.