Meta delivers on data center investment pledge with 13 grants to KC community orgs

A just-announced grant cabled into Meta data center communities is expected to help a Kansas City-based production crew known for invention competitions to shine a national spotlight on middle school innovators from Clay and Platte counties.

Make48 — a TV series that exposes the real life challenges of taking a product “from napkin design to store shelf” — is among more than a dozen Kansas City region awardees of Meta’s 2026 Data Center Community Action Grants.

While Meta did not break out 2026 award totals, the massive tech company has awarded 69 grants worth more than $1.5 million to organizations across the region since 2022, when Meta first announced its sprawling 5.5 million-square-foot data center campus at the corner of I-435 and U.S. 169 in Kansas City, Missouri. Its servers officially went live in August 2025.

Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — has provided more than $94 million to support 3,700 projects globally. The grants program launched in 2011 to provide direct funding to schools, nonprofits, and organizations that benefit local communities.

From the archives: Meta promises local jobs, impact; How its $800M plan could post growth (and disruption) to KC’s story

“We are incredibly grateful to Meta for this investment in Kansas City’s future,” said Tom Gray, co-founder and CEO of Make48. “This grant helps us reach middle schoolers by bringing our ‘Innovation Classroom’ directly to them.”

Make48 is set to organize and work with teams of students across Clay and Platte counties from August to November — the fall 2026 semester — as they’re challenged to solve real-world problems by mixing traditional hands-on making with new AI technology, Gray explained.

“They’ll have the full term to build a ‘works-like/feels-like’ prototype of their idea, create a sales sheet, and film a one-minute video before pitching their project at the end of the semester,” he said. “We expect to see around 15 to 20 of these new prototypes come to life from our local schools.”

The winning teams will earn an invitation to compete on the Make48 TV series in 2027, giving them a chance to work with professional mentors on a national stage, Gray said.

“This isn’t just about a competition; it’s about giving these kids the confidence to see themselves as the next generation of makers who will shape the future of their own local communities,” he said.

Organizations receiving Meta’s Data Center Community Action Grants empower people to put technology to use for community benefit, build sustainable communities, and help improve local science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education, the company said.

Meta highlighted that many of the 2026 funded projects align with the White House AI Youth Education Pledge and its focus on AI education and workforce development.

Other Kansas City region programs receiving Data Center Community Action Grants:

 

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City — To transform how youth engage with technology by launching a dedicated STEAM lab focused on robotics, 3D modeling and digital design thinking.

 

• Camp Encourage — To provide inclusive, sensory-friendly STEAM programming — including mobile planetariums and rocketry workshops — specifically designed for children on the autism spectrum.

 

• FRC Team 1806 S.W.A.T. — To build technical leadership and engineering proficiency by fielding a competitive robotics team that integrates mechanical design, electronics and programming.

 

• Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri — To empower thousands of girls through hands-on skilled trades training and integrated STEAM programming that builds technical confidence and career readiness.

 

• Horizon Elementary School — To harness students’ creativity through a comprehensive rollout of LEGO robotics kits that teach foundational coding and iterative design across all elementary grades.

 

• Kansas City Public Schools Education Foundation — To provide equitable access to rigorous, college-level mathematics for first-generation students through a dual-credit partnership with the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

 

• KC STEM Alliance — To strengthen the regional workforce by expanding FIRST robotics events and providing urban core students with access to high-tech maker labs and equipment.

 

• Liberty North High School — To equip high school students with advanced engineering skills by integrating AI-driven object detection and machine learning into competitive robot design.

 

• National Institute for Construction Excellence — To introduce elementary and middle school students to the skilled trades through a mobile construction laboratory focused on hands-on engineering and precision.

 

• Operation Breakthrough — To provide urban teens with paid internships and technical certifications in high-demand fields like cybersecurity and mechatronics through an expanded evening lab program.

 

• Veterans Community Project — To expand critical digital infrastructure at the Veterans Navigation Campus to ensure secure communication and access to virtual training for formerly homeless veterans.

 

• WeCode KC — To launch an AI-powered academy that provides young adults with industry certifications and hands-on experience in data center operations and cybersecurity.

 

“Meta shows what it looks like when a corporate partner truly invests in its community,” said Tammy Buckner, founder and CEO of grant recipient WeCode KC. 

She emphasized the recent grant’s focus on helping her organization expand career opportunities for high school students and young adults in some of the fastest‑growing, high‑demand tech fields in the Kansas City region.

The new WeCode KC initiative is expected to run as a pilot this summer with a full launch in the fall, Buckner said.

“We’ve already integrated AI ethics, data analytics, and artificial intelligence into our existing WeCode KC curriculum, so the Meta-funded pilot will build on courses that are in place rather than starting from scratch,” she explained. “This summer’s pilot will allow us to test and refine new modules and employer-connected experiences, and then scale them into a robust data analytics, AI, and cybersecurity pathway for high school students and young adults in the 2026–27 school year.”

From being an early corporate sponsor and investing in WeCode KC’s robotics team, Kids Tech Day, and workforce development programs to now fueling data analytics, and data center career pathways, Meta has been one of WeCode KC’s strongest and most consistent corporate partners, Buckner reiterated.

“Their leadership goes beyond funding,” she said, specifically calling out the work of Stef Seger, community development regional manager for Meta. “That kind of strategic partnership underscores how critical corporate investment and guidance are to creating real opportunity for young people in Kansas City and ensuring they benefit from the growth of our region’s tech and data center economy.”