ESRI, National Vacant Properties Campaign, and Magellan Announce Grant

Ten State or Local Governments to Receive Software, Hardware, and Training to Develop Vacant or Abandoned Properties with Redevelopment GIS Applications

REDLANDS AND SAN DIMAS, CALIFORNIA AND WASHINGTON D.C., September 5, 2006 — ESRI, the leading developer of geographic information system (GIS) software, Magellan, a leading GPS navigation and positioning innovator, and the National Vacant Properties Campaign (NVPC), announce the National Vacant and Abandoned Properties Grant Program.

The goal of this grant program is to foster innovative approaches to solving government problems through the combined use of GIS and GPS technology. Projects must demonstrate increased efficiencies in collecting data for decision support or increased productivity in delivering government services as they relate to their vacant property revitalization efforts. The ESRI and Magellan software, hardware, and training grants will be awarded to a total of 10 state, regional, or local governments within the United States.

The grant offers Magellan GPS/GIS devices hardware, software, and training totaling $ 50,000.  Applications for the ESRI, NVPC and Magellan Grant Program will be accepted beginning October 3, 2006.  The official deadline for all submissions is 5:00 p.m., Pacific Time, December 1, 2006.  Awards will be announced December 11, 2006. 

To learn more about the ESRI, NVPC and Magellan Grant Program and other grants sponsored by ESRI we encourage you to visit the ESRI Grants web site at www.esri.com/grants/index.html. 

To learn more about the National Vacant Properties Campaign, visit http://www.vacantproperties.org/

About Magellan
Magellan is a leader in the consumer, survey, GIS and OEM GPS navigation and positioning markets. Recognized as an industry innovator, the Company is the creator of the award-winning Magellan RoadMate series portable car navigation systems, the Magellan eXplorist™ outdoor handheld navigation devices, the Hertz NeverLost car navigation system and ProMark™, the best-selling single frequency GPS survey product line on the market.  The Company is privately held and headquartered in San Dimas, California. To learn more visit www.magellanGPS.com .

About NVPC
The National Vacant Properties Campaign exists to provide everyone – individuals, advocates, government agencies, developers, non-profits, and others – with information resources, tools, and assistance to support their vacant property revitalization efforts. The Campaign is a project of Smart Growth America (SGA), Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech.

About ESRI
Since 1969, ESRI has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, ESRI software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. ESRI applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. ESRI is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit www.esri.com .