The SBC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of San Antonio-based SBC Communications, has awarded 2004 SBC Excelerator grants to twenty Houston-area nonprofit organizations, the Houston Business Journal reports.

Through its annual SBC Excelerator initiative, SBC provides nonprofits with grants ranging from $2,500 to $25,000 for Web-based applications that support activities such as service delivery, volunteer recruiting, and e-fundraising; technology training programs for nonprofit staff members; high-speed Internet access; and e-mail and network connectivity that enables easy sharing of database applications and information systems. In 2004, the foundation distributed more than $8 million in Excelerator grants to community-based organizations. To qualify, an organization's major focus and project must emphasize education, community development, health and human services, or arts and culture.

Grant recipients announced in this round included the Third Ward Community Cloth Cooperative, which will use the funds to support technology training and provide technical assistance to six computer learning centers, and the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans, which will purchase computers, software, and Web support to help its Latino Technology Network Alliance partners collaborate on service delivery.