Microsoft Corp. is donating software to 10 nonprofits throughout the country through its annual Nonprofit Technology Leadership Grants. The software, with a retail value of $7.1 million, is given to organizations with branches in at least three states.

The goal of the program is for nonprofits to use the technology to become more efficient, resulting in better service.

Following is the list of grant recipients and the estimated retail value of Microsoft's gift:

• The National Multiple Sclerosis Society in New York, received the largest gift of the 10. The grant, worth more than $2 million in software, will be used to standardize the society's technology throughout the United States
• A $1.25 million gift to The Salvation Army's Cascade Division in Portland will help make its administrative offices more efficient. It will also be used for computer labs for at-risk youth in Portland and Boise, Idaho
• The American Lung Association in New York will use a $751,000 grant to standardize 53 offices to improve communications and internal effectiveness
• Habitat for Humanity International based in Americus, Ga., will get $501,000 for technology upgrades at its headquarters and in regional offices nationwide
• Boston, Mass.-based City Year brings together young adults for a year of civic leadership. Its $500,000 grant will establish a wide area network within the organization
• Mercy Housing in Denver, a housing development organization for the poor, will use its $500,000 grant for 20 computer learning centers at its housing projects. Mercy Housing also will establish a standard technology platform for its organization
• The American Red Cross will use its $497,000 grant to form technology infrastructures at 100 chapters nationwide
• A $489,000 gift to the World Wildlife Fund Inc. in Washington, D.C., will be used for better communications among its agencies
• The Trust for Public Land in San Francisco, which protects land for public use, received a $432,000 software grant to improve the group's efficiency by standardizing its computer platform
• ACCION International in Somerville, Mass., provides microloans and training to poor people who want to start their own business. A $248,000 software grant will allow ACCION to institute a standard technology platform throughout the organization.