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SBC Foundation Awards $1 Million Technology Grant To National Urban League

SBC Foundation Awards $1 Million Technology Grant To National Urban League

Published 07-21-04

Submitted by SBC Communications Inc.

SAN ANTONIO - According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, technology-focused careers in the areas of computer programming and information technology (IT) administration will grow more than 30 percent through 2010. To help prepare African Americans with the job skills needed for success in these industries, the SBC Foundation - the philanthropic arm of SBC Communications Inc. - announced today a $1 million SBC Excelerator grant to the National Urban League. The announcement was made at the 2004 National Urban League conference in Detroit, Mich.

The National Urban League will use the SBC Excelerator grant to launch Digital Empowerment Academies, an extension of the Urban League's Digital Campuses program, which provides technology skills to thousands of people each year. The academies bring technology job skills training to low-income communities through computer centers that provide online courses and Internet access for adults and youth. Selected National Urban League affiliates in 11 SBC states will offer job training in a range of technology industry focus areas, including computer programming, 3-D animation, video game programming, digital radio, and IT administration. Qualified affiliates can apply for funds through a competitive, invitational process.

"We must prepare African Americans for successful entry into the workforce," said Marc H. Morial, president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League. "Computer literacy and access to technology are essential tools for both entering - and thriving in - today's job market. Our $1 million SBC Excelerator grant will help us reach more than 1,000 adults and youth in urban centers across the country, every week."

Support from the SBC Excelerator grant will enable National Urban League affiliates to work with experts to design the technology curriculum, evaluate the academies' success and develop a sustainability plan. Members of the National Urban League's Technology Advisory Council will help affiliates prepare individuals for careers in the media production, computer programming and IT administration industries.

"The SBC family of companies has long supported the National Urban League's Digital Campuses workforce development program, and we recognize the growing employment opportunities in technology fields," said Forrest Miller, SBC group president of external affairs and planning. "In partnership, the SBC Foundation and the National Urban League will provide African Americans in cities across the country with the opportunity to develop technology skills that are increasingly linked to success."

SBC companies have an industry-leading record of supporting workforce and supplier diversity, and providing employment and leadership opportunities to employees and businesses owned by people of color. Based on that record, SBC Communications has been named one of Fortune magazine's 50 Best Companies for Minorities for six consecutive years and as one of the top 50 companies for diversity by DiversityInc.com.

Projects funded through the SBC Excelerator grant will be awarded to qualified National Urban League affiliates in the following SBC operating area states: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. SBC Excelerator, the SBC Foundation's signature grant making initiative, funds projects that use technology to build stronger communities. The 2004 SBC Excelerator program will provide $9 million in national and competitive grants to help nonprofits fully integrate technology into their ongoing operations and community outreach.

The National Urban League is the second $1 million 2004 SBC Excelerator national grant recipient. A $1 million SBC Excelerator grant to the League of Latin American Citizens (LULAC) was announced earlier in July. In coming months, the SBC Foundation will announce additional SBC Excelerator national grant recipients, as well as regional nonprofit recipients benefiting from $5 million in competitive grants awarded throughout the SBC 13-state region. Since SBC Excelerator's inception in 2002, nearly $20 million in technology grants has been awarded to more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations.

The SBC Foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2004. In the past two decades, SBC Communications and the SBC Foundation have contributed more than $1 billion to nonprofit organizations and affiliates across the country.

The National Urban League is the nation's oldest and largest community-based movement empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream. The National Urban League, headquartered in New York City, spearheads the nonprofit, nonpartisan movement, while Urban League affiliates operate in more than 100 cities in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

The SBC Foundation is the charitable giving arm of SBC Communications Inc. The SBC Foundation supports efforts that enrich and strengthen diverse communities nationwide, particularly those with an emphasis on education and technology and those that benefit underserved populations. SBC Foundation-backed programs are designed to increase access to information technologies, broaden technology training and professional skills development, and effectively integrate new technologies to enhance education and economic development. The Foundation Center has consistently ranked the SBC Foundation among the nation's top six corporate foundations. In 2002, the SBC Foundation launched SBC Excelerator, a multimillion dollar competitive grants program that funds nonprofit organizations in their efforts to digitally connect communities.

SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC) is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which serves more than 24 million wireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internet access lines to more American consumers than any other provider and are among the nation's leading providers of Internet services. SBC companies also now offer satellite TV service. Additional information about SBC and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com.

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