Markdown edition

# Indiana coalition asks Microsoft to make data-center benefits binding

> We Make Indiana seeks a binding community fund and safeguards for Microsoft's Granger data center. Microsoft says local investment decisions have not been made.

By BIG CHANGE Editorial

Published: 2026-09-28T14:47:31.969Z
Updated: 2026-09-28T14:47:31.969Z
Canonical: https://bigchange.ai/blog/indiana-coalition-microsoft-data-center-fair-share

![An unsigned blank proposal folder with an orange tab lies at the center of a table surrounded by empty chairs in a community hall.](https://bigchange.ai/api/media/file/indiana-fair-share-hero-v1.png)
AI-generated conceptual illustration by BIG CHANGE.

Faith leaders in northern Indiana want Microsoft to negotiate a binding agreement for its planned Granger data center, with a community-governed fund and environmental safeguards. We Make Indiana gave the company a proposal in May and renewed its call to St. Joseph County officials on September 22. Microsoft told [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/microsoft-goes-quiet-after-church-groups-ask-for-1-of-data-center-costs) that local investment decisions have not yet been made.

## The big change

- **What changed:** The coalition has put a proposed annual funding mechanism and binding safeguards before Microsoft and county officials. It asked Microsoft to assess a fair share of the project's costs; the proposal did not demand a fixed 1% contribution.
- **Why it matters:** A negotiated agreement could give residents a say in where sustained funding goes and make project safeguards enforceable. Microsoft's national community plan and its listed Indiana programs do not establish those terms for Granger.
- **What to watch:** Whether Microsoft and local officials agree to negotiate, what share and oversight they would accept, and whether any commitments become binding. No such Granger agreement was located for this article.

## What the coalition proposed

We Make Indiana's May proposal asks Microsoft to contribute a fair percentage of its annual data center costs, including during construction, to a fund overseen by an independent community board, [Ars reports](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/microsoft-goes-quiet-after-church-groups-ask-for-1-of-data-center-costs). [WVPE also reported](https://www.wvpe.org/wvpe-news/2026-05-20/faith-group-wants-microsoft-to-pay-fair-share-from-data-center-profits) the request for a community-board fund. The proposal document itself was not publicly available in the materials BIG CHANGE could retrieve.

The coalition's own [Fair Share page](https://wemakeindiana.squarespace.com/fairshare) sets out two parts: an ongoing fund for needs such as housing, child care and public health, and binding environmental protections. The examples it gives include public water and electricity reporting, independent assessment of utility impacts, safeguards against shifting infrastructure costs to residents, and limits on backup-generator emissions. Those are requested terms, not promises Microsoft has accepted.

Ars says the coalition considered asking for 1% to 2% internally, then asked Microsoft to work out a fair percentage instead. That distinction matters for residents assessing the proposal: there is no agreed contribution formula, payment schedule or fund amount. Ars also reports that We Make Indiana was told by a Microsoft liaison that a series of one-time nonprofit grants would total no more than $1 million. That cap is the coalition's account of the conversation, not a figure confirmed in Microsoft's quoted response to Ars.

The group has continued to press the issue publicly. [ABC57 reported on September 3](https://www.abc57.com/news/clergy-leaders-put-public-pressure-on-county-officials-with-data-center-concerns) that clergy wanted money set aside for local neighborhoods and commitments on noise, water and energy. [WNDU reported on September 22](https://www.wndu.com/2026/09/22/faith-leaders-michiana-call-accountability-data-centers/) that they asked county officials to push Microsoft for legally binding promises and long-term investment.

## Microsoft's policy and its local response

In January, Microsoft announced a nationwide [Community-First AI Infrastructure plan](https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2026/01/13/community-first-ai-infrastructure/) covering electricity costs, water use, local jobs, property taxes and investment in AI training and nonprofits. It says it will provide local liaisons and work with communities on their needs. The plan states company commitments, but sets no Granger-specific community fund, annual percentage or independent board.

Microsoft's [Indiana community investments page](https://local.microsoft.com/blog/indiana-community-investments/) names support for youth robotics at GEARS, a Datacenter Academy partnership with Ivy Tech, food rescue and the Friends of Granger Paths. The page calls the list a sample of its annual investments. It does not state the amounts for these projects or make them part of a negotiated Granger agreement. Microsoft told Ars that it valued the coalition's proposal as community input and that investment decisions were still at an early stage.

The county's separate response is also unfinished. After the coalition's September 22 appeal, the St. Joseph County Council voted 6–3 to send a proposed restriction on *new* hyperscale data centers to its Area Plan Commission, [ABC57 reported](https://www.abc57.com/news/st-joseph-county-council-advances-plan-to-ban-new-data-centers). That vote began a zoning process. It did not create a fair-share agreement or settle obligations for Microsoft's Granger project.

The contribution, control of the fund and enforceable safeguards remain unsettled. Microsoft's public plan and named Indiana programs describe its current approach, while We Make Indiana's proposal remains a request to negotiate.

## Sources

- [Ars Technica, Ashley Belanger, September 28, 2026](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/microsoft-goes-quiet-after-church-groups-ask-for-1-of-data-center-costs) — Original reporting based on the coalition's May proposal and interviews. It says 1–2% was considered internally but the proposal requested that Microsoft assess a fair share; the $1 million cap is what the group says a liaison told it. Microsoft's quoted response says local investment decisions have not been made. BIG CHANGE did not receive the proposal itself.
- [We Make Indiana, Fair Share page and June 17 statement](https://wemakeindiana.squarespace.com/fairshare) — The coalition's own public account of its two-part request: an ongoing community fund and binding environmental protections. It names local spending priorities and proposed reporting, utility and generator safeguards. It reproduces a June 17 opinion article, not the complete May proposal or an executed agreement; its tax-savings forecasts were not adopted as verified figures.
- [Microsoft, Building Community-First AI Infrastructure, January 13, 2026](https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2026/01/13/community-first-ai-infrastructure/) — Microsoft's national five-part plan covering electricity, water, jobs, taxes and community training/nonprofits. It gives no Granger-specific fund or negotiated percentage and is not evidence of a binding local agreement.
- [Microsoft, Indiana community investments](https://local.microsoft.com/blog/indiana-community-investments/) — Names GEARS, Ivy Tech, Cultivate Food Rescue and Friends of Granger Paths among a sample of Indiana programs. It does not disclose amounts for these items or establish the proposed community-governed fund.
- [WVPE, May 20, 2026](https://www.wvpe.org/wvpe-news/2026-05-20/faith-group-wants-microsoft-to-pay-fair-share-from-data-center-profits) — Local reporting that We Make Indiana gave Microsoft a proposal shortly before the May 19 open house and sought a fund overseen by a community board. The Microsoft spokesperson at that event said he had not seen it; this is not the company's later September response.
- [ABC57, September 3, 2026](https://www.abc57.com/news/clergy-leaders-put-public-pressure-on-county-officials-with-data-center-concerns) — Local reporting on clergy concerns about noise, water, energy and neighborhood investment. The concerns are advocates' statements, not measured project impacts.
- [WNDU, September 22, 2026](https://www.wndu.com/2026/09/22/faith-leaders-michiana-call-accountability-data-centers/) — Reports the renewed request to St. Joseph County officials for legally binding promises and long-term investment. It did not report that an agreement had been signed.
- [ABC57, St. Joseph County Council vote, September 22, 2026](https://www.abc57.com/news/st-joseph-county-council-advances-plan-to-ban-new-data-centers) — Reports a 6–3 preliminary vote to direct the Area Plan Commission to draft a zoning amendment for future hyperscale data centers. That process is separate from We Make Indiana's requested Microsoft agreement.
- [Related BIG CHANGE coverage: France's 18 GW data-center queue](https://bigchange.ai/blog/france-data-centers-18-gw-grid-connection-queue) — Related coverage of requested grid connections in France. It concerns power capacity planning, while this article examines a proposed local benefits agreement in Indiana.