IREN awards $94,690 in grants to 11 Fisher County organizations

From schools and youth sports to volunteer fire departments, the company’s first Fisher County Community Grant Reception recognized organizations serving communities across the county.

Community volunteers, school leaders and nonprofit organizers gathered at Longworth Gin on Nov. 13 as IREN awarded $94,690 in grants to 11 Fisher County organizations during the company’s first Fisher County Community Grant Reception.

Representatives from each organization attended the event, where IREN leaders discussed the company’s growing presence in West Texas, provided an update on its Fisher County projects and outlined its approach to community investment.

“Thank you for welcoming us again into your Texas community,” said IREN Chief Operating Officer David Shaw.

Shaw oversees the company’s multimillion-dollar assets, including two projects under development in Fisher County. He said IREN operates 650 megawatts of data center capacity at its Childress operation, where the company recently hired its 100th local employee.

He also reflected on attending the Fisher County Fair and Rodeo earlier in the year.

“You all really punch above your weight in terms of community events,” Shaw said. “We appreciated the hospitality and look forward to next year’s event.”

IREN outlines West Texas growth

Shaw said IREN was founded in 2018 by brothers Dan and Will Roberts to develop infrastructure capable of supporting emerging computing demands.

The company searches globally for locations capable of supporting large-scale digital infrastructure, with rural areas offering access to energy and land often playing an important role in those decisions.

Shaw described IREN’s next-generation data centers as high-density, vertically integrated facilities capable of supporting workloads including Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence computing.

“From the substation and high-voltage systems, through the data center operations, to the compute hardware itself, we manage it all,” Shaw said.

The company has also expanded into AI cloud services. Earlier in November, IREN announced a $9.7 billion contract with Microsoft to provide cloud services from its 750-megawatt Childress campus.

In Fisher County, Shaw said approximately 30 employees were already working for IREN at the time of the reception.

Construction work included substation development, roads, drainage and site preparation. Shaw said the company expected the substation to be energized in April, with civil work on the data center buildings scheduled to begin the following month.

“Things are moving quickly,” he said.

Shaw said the company views community investment as part of establishing a long-term presence in an area.

“We cannot be successful in a region unless the community is successful,” Shaw said. “That’s why we give back, and tonight’s event is one way we do that.”

11 local organizations receive grants

Heather Miller, IREN’s Vice President of People, Culture and Community, said the company’s community grant initiative began in 2022.

“Supporting nonprofits in the regions where we operate is a core value,” Miller said.

At the time of the Fisher County reception, Miller said IREN had awarded 152 nonprofit grants totaling $904,000, with more than $400,000 invested in Texas.

The grants have supported education, youth programs, community spaces, nonprofit services and rural volunteer organizations.

Fisher County recipients included:

• Fisher 4-H
• Fisher County Fair & Rodeo Association
• Rotan ISD
• Roby ISD
• Rotan Improvement Group
• Roby Youth Sports League
• Rotan Volunteer Fire Department
• Roby Volunteer Fire Department
• Rotan Booster Club
• The Hub in Roby
• Roby ISD Club

Together, the organizations received $94,690.

IREN Vice President of USA Operations Giles Walsh closed the program by recognizing the work performed by local nonprofit organizations and volunteers.

“Communities thrive on the energy, collaboration, and commitment of nonprofits,” Walsh said.

He also thanked local leaders and IREN employees involved in construction, operations and community engagement.

“We look forward to doing this again next year,” Walsh said.

Dinner followed the ceremony, with IREN representatives and grant recipients visiting throughout the evening.