Lawrence’s Bioscience & Technology Business Center has just won a $50,000 federal grant to boost its accelerator programs.

The money is part of $3.4 million awarded by the U.S. Small Business Administration through its Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. All told, 68 organizations in 32 states and the District of Columbia will receive funding. Officials are trying to shore up entrepreneurial ecosystems that might not be as well connected.

“SBA created the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition in 2014 as a way to make new connections and strengthen existing bonds within America’s small business support network, bringing entrepreneurs and innovators together and connecting them with local and national resources that support small business job creation and growth,” SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet said.

“These awards deliver on a long-standing commitment at SBA to strengthen and modernize these support systems especially in parts of the country where access to capital has been a major barrier to starting a business. This year’s winners show that our efforts are bearing fruit and further cementing our nation’s most pioneering accelerators, incubators and innovation hubs as major players driving America’s technology startup ecosystem.”