Amazon commits $1B to US data center communities

Amazon launched its Built Together initiative on October 2, 2026, committing $1 billion over five years to US communities that host its data centers. The program will average $200 million per year through 2031 to expand education access, workforce training, and local energy efficiency upgrades.

Under the plan, Amazon is providing $100 million in upfront funding for community college endowments and another $100 million to expand its training centers in 2026. The company aims to provide tuition-free degrees or credentials to 300,000 students, with 26 community college agreements already underway. AWS currently operates three Modular Training Centers, has six in development, and plans to build 16 more through 2028 to train 100,000 workers annually.

The initiative also allocates grants for energy efficiency improvements across 300 schools and community buildings, as well as 30,000 homes. These residential upgrades target a 20% to 40% reduction in monthly power bills, yielding estimated savings of $700 per year for each participating household.

The commitment comes as about 100 data center moratoriums are under consideration across the United States. Between 2011 and 2025, AWS spent $276 billion in cumulative capital investment on US data centers, and Amazon projects company-wide capital expenditures of $220 billion for 2026. Amazon also contributed $1 billion to US communities over the prior three years.

On environmental performance, AWS reported reaching 75% of its goal to become water positive by 2030, operating at seven times the water efficiency of the industry average. It has contracted 65 global replenishment projects returning 8 billion gallons of water annually.