Meta’s footprint in Aiken County continues to grow, and the company’s latest announcement could bring even more investment to the area.
The company is already building its first South Carolina data center in Aiken County and has awarded more than $600,000 to local schools, nonprofits and community organizations.
Now, Meta is launching a new $1 billion Future is for Everyone Fund aimed at investing directly in communities where the company owns and operates data centers.
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new fund this week as part of a broader piece outlining the company’s vision for the future of artificial intelligence.
For Aiken County, the announcement comes as Meta is already becoming a larger part of the local community.
The company announced plans in 2024 for an approximately $800 million data center at Sage Mill Industrial Park, a 715,000-square-foot facility expected to begin operations in 2027.
But Meta’s investment in the area has not been limited to construction.
Through its Data Center Community Action Grants program, the company has provided funding to organizations across Aiken County for projects focused on education, STEM, conservation, community services and workforce development.
Local recipients include the Aiken County Public School District, Aiken Land Conservancy, M’Aiken Magic STEM Education Foundation, South Carolina Bluebird Society, United Way of Aiken County, Aiken Senior Life Services and the University of South Carolina Aiken Ruth Patrick Science Education Center, among others.
Some of those grants are helping expand robotics and STEM opportunities for students. Others are supporting conservation projects, technology upgrades and services for residents across the county.
The new billion-dollar fund could broaden that kind of investment.
According to Zuckerberg’s announcement, Meta plans to use the fund to support priorities such as teachers, first responders, energy and water infrastructure, and other needs identified by individual communities.
Rather than rolling out the same program everywhere, Meta says it plans to work with communities to determine what investments make the most sense locally.
That could be especially relevant in Aiken as the company moves closer to opening its data center.
Meta has also been putting more emphasis on developing the workforce needed to support the growth of data centers and other technology infrastructure.
Earlier this year, the company announced its $115 million America’s Workforce Academy, which is designed to provide training for skilled-trade jobs connected to data center construction, energy infrastructure and similar industries.
South Carolina residents are eligible to participate in the program.
Taken together, Meta’s activity in Aiken is beginning to stretch well beyond the data center itself.
The company is investing in the physical project, directing money to local organizations and creating new workforce programs tied to the growing demand for technology infrastructure.
Exactly how much of the new $1 billion fund ultimately reaches Aiken County remains to be seen, but the area is already one of the South Carolina communities most closely tied to Meta’s continued expansion.
With construction underway and local grant funding already flowing, the latest announcement gives Aiken another reason to watch what comes next from the company.