Credits
 

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.

Click here to learn more about the SBC Foundation.

 



 




Laura Sanford
President, SBC Foundation

Laura Sanford is President of the SBC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of SBC Communications Inc. and its family of companies. SBC Communications has been named "The World's Most Admired Telecommunications Company" by Fortune magazine seven years in a row, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy and The Foundation Center have consistently ranked the SBC Foundation among the nation's top five corporate foundations.

Ms. Sanford oversees SBC's grant and employee giving programs, which in 2004 represented more than $48 million in charitable contributions to over 4,500 local, state and national non-profit organizations. The Foundation's primary interest is in funding programs that support education and economic development, with a particular focus on supporting initiatives that integrate technology and seek to eliminate the digital divide.

Laura is actively involved in the San Antonio community, where the SBC Foundation is headquartered. In addition to serving on the Los Compadres de San Antonio Missions National Historical Park and Bexar County Arts and Culture Fund Boards, she serves as a fund distribution committee member for United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County and a marketing committee member for the San Antonio Area Foundation. She is also chairman of the Nonprofit Initiatives Advisory Committee for the University of Texas at San Antonio.

In her 25-year career with SBC Communications, Ms. Sanford has held a wide variety of positions in Operations, Marketing and Advertising. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the University of Texas at San Antonio.