Water Safety Grants

Every year, families are impacted by accidental drownings in the Ocean State, and many of our children and teens lack the skills needed to stay safe in the water. In response to this, DEM is again offering grants to communities and organizations that provide swimming lessons or paddlecraft safety lessons to children and teens to support additional participation in their programs. Formal swimming and paddlecraft lessons are preventative measures that can reduce the risk of drowning. In addition to swimming and paddlecraft lessons, children should always be supervised by an adult near bodies of water including beaches and pools. 

Youth swim lessons at Pods Swimming with Providence Community Health Centers
Youth swim lessons at Pods Swimming with Providence Community Health Centers, who received a $13,883 award through the Water Safety Grant Program in FY2024.Credit: Pods Swimming

Background 

The 2025 Water Safety Grant Program aims to provide free swimming or paddlecraft safety lessons to students from low-income households via scholarships through municipalities and water safety organizations. Despite the proximity most of our residents have to public water access, whether saltwater beaches or freshwater ponds, Rhode Island does not have a robust water safety training curriculum. The goal is that this program will bolster water safety training for Rhode Islanders and avoid some potential water hazards, such as drowning. Participating entities may use the grant awards to cover the cost of swimming or paddlecraft safety lessons for students from low-income households. 

General Requirements 

The grants may only be used to cover the cost of swimming or paddlecraft safety lessons for students under the age of 18 who come from low-income households. Eligible students should have 100% of lesson costs covered by this grant funding.

Grant Award Amounts 

Capitalized by a line item included in the enacted fiscal year 2025 budget, the program will award up to $75,000 total in 2025. The RI Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) will accept applications for grants of a minimum of $5,000.00 up to $75,000.00 based on demonstrated need to qualified applicants who host swimming or paddlecraft safety lessons across the state, to be issued no later than June 30, 2025.

Depending on the number of qualified applicants and amounts requested, applicants may not receive the full amount requested. 

Eligibility 

Applicants must be either a municipality, non-profit organization, or corporation registered to operate in Rhode Island that provides swimming or paddlecraft safety lessons to students under 18 or provides funding for free swim or paddlecraft safety lessons to students from low-income households. If your organization has multiple locations, please submit a separate application for each location.

Project Length 

Swim lessons must be funded after the award is granted and completed prior to December 31, 2025. Grantees are responsible for providing a final report outlining the number of students whose lessons were funded as well as their demographic information. Final receipts and reports are due to RIDEM prior to February 28, 2026. Any grantees who do not provide timely interim and final grant reports will be required to reimburse the state for the granted money and will be ineligible for future grant funding.

Submission Policy 

The applicant must adhere to all application instructions, including all deadlines. RIDEM will accept electronic submissions via the RIDEM website before the posted deadline as the final and sole acceptable submission of an application.

RIDEM will not accept submission or re-submission of incomplete or delayed applications after the posted deadline, barring exceptional circumstances.

RIDEM’s online submission system will prevent applications from being submitted after the cut-off time.

How to Apply

A link to the online application is below. Please note that maximum funding for any single project shall be limited to $75,000. Applications that do not meet the criteria will be rejected.

 

Submit Grant Application Request

Applications will be screened based on the following criteria:

  • The application meets all eligibility and submission requirements.
  • The applicant’s information is complete.
  • Applications without budgets will not be accepted (see below for budget requirements).
  • Organization Qualifications (15 points): Applicants will be scored based on their qualifications as a swimming/paddlecraft instruction facility or funding organization. 
  • Program Overview (15 points): Applicants will be scored based on the framework within which instruction is performed, including various skill levels offered, student-to-staff ratio, and projected student outcomes.
  • Demonstrated Need (20 points): Applicants will be scored based on the demonstrated need for funded swim lessons, including whether there are students who cannot afford lessons at your location, if you currently provide subsidized lessons for students from low-income households, and how many, etc. Increasing the capacity or reach of an existing program can be another demonstrated need.
  • Methodology (20 points): Applicants will be evaluated based on their screening method for determining student eligibility for funded lessons. 
  • Budget (20 points): Applicants will be scored based on the cost and number of lessons for one student and the anticipated number of students this will serve. 
  • Environmental Justice Community (10 points): Applicants will be assessed for their location within one of DEM’s environmental justice communities (DEM’s Environmental Justice Policy).  

Technical Assistance

For any questions or technical assistance needs, please contact Troy Langknecht at troy.langknecht@dem.ri.gov or (401) 537-4150.