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To help meet this demand, the SBC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of SBC Communications Inc., announced today a $500,000 national SBC Excelerator technology grant to the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation to support the creation of Casa Cyber Community Technology Centers throughout the United States.

The grant initiative will create 20 Casa Cyber Community Technology Centers -- community-based, small-business incubation centers operated in conjunction with local Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. Through a competitive application process, which begins in January 2006, local Hispanic Chambers of Commerce will be able to vie for seed monies to establish these centers. The centers will launch in summer 2006.

In light of the extraordinary circumstances created by Hurricane Katrina, a direct grant for the creation of a Casa Cyber Technology Center will be given to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana located in Metairie, Louisiana. The funds will help impacted businesses get back on their feet after the unprecedented disaster in the metropolitan New Orleans area.

"Technology is the engine that drives the entrepreneurial spirit, and incubation centers provide folks with the tools necessary to turn dreams into reality," said United States Representative Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' Technology, Communications and the Arts Task Force. "Benefits, however, do not end there. Incubation programs also support the community by creating jobs, enhancing a community's entrepreneurial climate, retaining businesses, building or accelerating growth in a local industry and diversifying local economies. The impact of Casa Cyber Technology Centers will be felt for many years to come."

Casa Cyber Community Technology Centers will provide technology infrastructure resources necessary for small, startup businesses to get off the ground by eliminating initial technology-related overhead expenses. Centers will provide resources such as computers, access to the Internet, office space, business-related services and a network of contacts.

There are currently an estimated 2 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Business Owners. It is projected that by 2007, one out of 10 businesses will be Hispanic-owned. Not only are Hispanics the second-largest population in the country, but Latinos and Latinas are starting businesses at faster rates than any other segment of the population.

"With such a rapid rate of business startups among Hispanics, many entrepreneurs may not be able to acquire access to technology resources through their own means," said Laura Sanford, president of the SBC Foundation. "The SBC Excelerator program is founded on the idea that technology skills are vital in enabling businesses to reach their full economic potential. Our grant to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation reflects our shared commitment to programs and services that serve the Hispanic community."

Incubator programs have a strong track record of success. The National Business Incubator Association (NBIA) reports that businesses graduating from an incubator have up to an 80 percent greater success rate than companies not receiving benefits of an incubation program.

"The incubator setting will give entrepreneurs the support and guidance they will need to nurture and grow their business idea into a functioning business," said Frank Lopez, president, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation. "These incubators will enable the USHCC Foundation to carry on its commitment to entrepreneurship and fostering business development while bringing much-needed technology resources to each community."

The USHCC Foundation in conjunction with the SBC Foundation will select the remaining 19 local Hispanic chambers of commerce to house the proposed incubators. Each chamber will work with the USHCC Foundation to implement, open, manage and sustain the incubators and begin to grow businesses that will be able to contribute to the economic stability, growth and success of the chosen communities.