Meta

Expanding Our Data Center Community Action Grants Program

Takeaways

  • We’re currently accepting applications for the 2026 Data Center Community Action Grants program, and we’re expanding the grants to seven new communities.
  • These grants provide direct funding to schools, nonprofits, and community organizations in the areas that host our data centers. 
  • Grant winners in DeKalb, Illinois; Fort Worth, Texas; Los Lunas, New Mexico; and countless other cities have used funding to support projects that improve local STEAM education, integrate new tech into their communities, and more.

We’re now accepting applications for the 2026 Meta Data Center Community Action Grants program, which provides direct funding to schools, nonprofits, and community organizations working on projects that benefit the communities where we build our data centers. These grants have been part of our commitment to investing in the long-term vitality of these communities since 2011, and they also support our commitment to the White House AI Youth Education Pledge. 

This year, we’re expanding the grants to include seven additional communities that are home to our newest data centers: Aiken, South Carolina; Bowling Green, Ohio; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Jeffersonville, Indiana; Montgomery, Alabama; Richland Parish, Louisiana; Rosemount, Minnesota. Applications are open through November 21, 2025. 

To date, we’ve given over $74 million to data center communities globally, $24 million of which have been through the Data Center Community Action Grants program. The projects we’ve funded put technology to use for community benefit, enable local organizations to build strong communities, and improve local science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education. Grant winners can reapply each year, which means many projects receive long-term funding that help them grow, sustain, and create lasting impact. 

Here are just a few of the ways recent grant winners have used their funding to drive positive change in  their communities. 

Funding STEAM Learning and Workforce Development

Since breaking ground on our DeKalb, Illinois data center in 2020, we have awarded grants and sponsorships to support over 65 local projects. The Northern Illinois University (NIU) Foundation received a 2025 Meta Data Center Community Action Grant to expand summer programming for students. This was their third grant from the program, and their expansion includes the Huskie Engineering camps, which offer STEM learning experiences for middle and high school students. 65 middle schoolers have completed coursework about sensors through NIU’s STEAM programs, and 40 have completed coursework in data and AI. NIU also used grant funding to launch the STEAM Studio, which offers afterschool programs, college preparation, and workforce development.  

“After receiving funding from the DeKalb Data Center Community Action Grants, we were able to pilot and deliver our Huskie Engineering camps. Meta’s investments have already made a significant impact on our community and will continue to for years to come.”

Sam Guerrero, Director of Advancement, Institutional and Regional Initiatives, NIU Foundation

Expanding High-Tech STEM Education for Middle Schoolers

We’ve invested over $2.5 billion in data center infrastructure in Los Lunas, New Mexico, and have awarded grants and sponsorships to support over 210 projects in the area since 2019.  Last year, Belen Consolidated Schools, a local school district, received their sixth consecutive Data Center Community Action Grant, which they used to help fund their new STEM Center at Belen Middle School. This Center gives students access to cutting-edge tech, giving them an opportunity to engage with and learn about drones, snap circuits, coding kits, tablets, and 3-D printing.

Providing STEM Education for At-Risk Youth

Texas is home to three Meta data centers, and our Fort Worth data center was our first in the state. Since breaking ground in 2015, we’ve given $4.9 million in direct funding to local schools and nonprofits across over 175 grants locally. Maroon 9 Community Enrichment Organization was awarded their third Data Center Community Action Grant in 2024 to support a STEM digital media technology camp. The camp teaches at-risk youth how to use animation, digital art and design, and media production for social impact.

“The grant we received from Meta allowed us to introduce digital media and STEM skills to students — we showed students that innovation can be a pathway away from violence and toward empowerment.”

– ShaVonne Davis, Executive Director, Maroon 9 Community Enrichment Organization

Learn more about our Data Center Community Action Grants program or submit an application here.