WASHINGTON — A $12 million grant from the Small Business Administration will be used to open 19 new Women's Business Centers.

The $12 million includes funding for the new WBCs, continued funding for the 29 existing WBCs that are still in their first five years of funding and 51 older WBCs that were awarded sustainability grants. Each WBC is required to match a portion of the federal funds with private contributions, the agency said. WBCs are community-based and they are in nearly every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and American Samoa. Each center tailors its services to meet the needs of the local area, and works to provide women business owners with long-term training, counseling and mentoring, as well as access to all of the SBA's programs and services. The new WBCs are located in Wiscasset, Maine; Kenosha, Wis.; Seattle; New York; Durant, Okla.; Philadelphia; Greensburg, Pa.; Los Angeles; Wilmington, Del.; San Antonio; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Forest, Miss.; Newark, N.J.; Santa Ana, Calif.; Huntsville, Ala. (serving Northern Alabama counties); Mobile, Ala.; San Bernardino, Calif.; and Albuquerque, N.M.