Forty-six projects across Northwest Louisiana are turning local ideas into action with support from the Amazon Northwest Louisiana Community Fund, managed by nonprofit partner ChangeX. The fund awarded nearly $500,000 in grants of up to $10,000 to nonprofitst, schools, and individual community members across Caddo and Bossier Parishes and the greater Shreveport area. STACK Infrastructure, Amazon’s data center development partner in the region, contributed $100,000 as part of a partnership to support community-led investment.
The grants were announced at a celebration on July 8 at Chef’s Table by BeauxJax in Bossier City, Louisiana.
“We’re proud to support the people and organizations doing meaningful work in Northwest Louisiana,” said Afrika Alsup, community engagement manager at Amazon. “This fund puts resources directly into the hands of community members who understand what their neighbors need and are stepping up to deliver it.”
“Supporting community-led projects like these is a meaningful way to invest in the people and neighborhoods around us,” said Kevin Hughes, chief external affairs officer at STACK Americas. “We’re glad to help expand access to resources for organizations doing important work across the region.”
From food rescue operations to youth robotics competitions to transitional housing for homeless families, the funded projects reflect the diverse priorities of the region, each one addressing a specific gap identified by people who know their communities firsthand.
Grants will provide tens of thousands of pounds of food and weekend meal bags for children, secure infrastructure to rescue surplus restaurant meals and redirect them to people in need, expand home-delivered meals to seven days a week for homebound seniors, and deliver thousands of hot meals to families while their child is hospitalized.
Funding will connect hundreds of high school girls with professional women mentors for career development, build a regional robotics competition series serving hundreds of students and educators, provide trade training programs with tools and equipment to deliver employer-aligned instruction and industry credentials, and provide underserved youth with bootcamps in financial literacy, digital skills, and career readiness.
Grants will provide emergency relocation, phones, and transportation for domestic violence victims, sustain a 24/7 shelter that transitions homeless veterans into permanent housing, equip justice-impacted individuals with bicycles to overcome transportation barriers to employment, deliver professional development and employer connections to help survivors of violence achieve economic independence, and build transitional micro-housing with wraparound services for homeless families.
Other funded projects will build connections and improve quality of life across the region through weekly community dinners that link residents with services, neighborhood revitalization and accessibility improvements, intergenerational mentorship programs, and community murals.
“Investments like these strengthen the foundation that makes our region attractive to businesses and families alike,” said Justyn Dixon, president and CEO at North Louisiana Economic Partnership. “At NLEP, we work to recruit companies that will be strong long-term community partners. Amazon and STACK are doing exactly that by investing in workforce readiness, food access, and quality of life. That’s how economic development benefits the entire region.”
The Amazon Northwest Louisiana Community Fund is part of Amazon’s broader investment in Louisiana and its commitment to supporting the communities where it operates.