04/28/2026
This week, we celebrated our 2026 Meta Data Center Community Action Grant recipients at the New Albany Data Center — and it was a joy to bring together this year’s grant recipients, community partners, Meta team members, and local leaders!
Through our Data Center Community Action Grants program, Meta provides funding for nonprofits and schools, addressing critical community needs by putting technology to use for community benefit, enabling people to build strong, sustainable communities, and improving local STEAM education to support the long-term vitality of Franklin and Licking counties. Learn more about this year’s projects:
Buddy Up for Life, Inc: To boost literacy, communication, and independent living skills for individuals with Down syndrome through personalized, hands-on iPad technology training.
C-TEC of Licking County: To help middle and high school students discover in-demand career paths through immersive VR simulations in health care, manufacturing and the skilled trades.
The Dawes Arboretum: To transform an accessible electric tram into a mobile learning lab and safeguard over 5,000 botanical specimens in an enhanced community herbarium.
We DID Start the Fire: To expand community access to robotics education through advanced engineering equipment, student-led workshops and mentorship for new teams.
The Garden for All: To reduce carbon emissions and increase fresh food production for local pantries by integrating an Ohio-manufactured electric tractor into sustainable farming operations.
Healthy New Albany: To integrate portable scientific tools and inquiry-based curricula into outdoor programming to build ecological literacy and STEM confidence in local youth.
Licking Heights Local Schools: To foster a STEM mindset in all students through hands-on design challenges and purposeful play spaces that build lifelong problem-solving and collaboration skills.
New Albany-Plain Local Schools: To develop a visually engaging and educationally purposeful outdoor learning space by planting native species that attract pollinators and support multischool environmental study.
TECH CORPS: To equip students in grades 3–8 with future-ready skills through immersive summer camps focused on the real-world applications of artificial intelligence and robotics.
A Tribe for Jazz: To spark STEAM interest in underserved youth through immersive labs that blend music with virtual reality, coding and AI-driven design.
Many thanks to our New Albany, Ohio Government Councilman Kasey Kist for providing a warm opening for our program and to each of our partners for your commitment to making a tremendous impact in our community!
