Official State of Rhode Island website

State of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Water Safety Grant Application 2027

There are five possible types of water safety grants:

  1. Teaching subsidized swim lessons
  2. Teaching subsidized paddlecraft lessons
  3. Teaching subsidized adaptive lessons
  4. Adaptive training and/or equipment 

New for 2027 Grants: Adults are now eligible to receive funding under the Water Safety Grant specifically for adaptive and paddlecraft Lessons 

Due to funding restrictions, applicants who apply for multiple types of grants may only receive an award for a single type. If your facility applies for more than one type, please note in your application which type you’d prefer to be awarded.

All application sections must be completed; incomplete forms will not be considered. Applications are due by 4:00 PM on December 1, 2026. DEM will accept applications for grants of $5,000 or more for qualified applicants based on demonstrated need. Applications that do not meet the criteria will be rejected. View the full information for this program at dem.ri.gov/natural-resources-bureau/water-safety-program

  • Applicant Information
  • Program Overview
  • Demonstrated Need
  • Methodology
  • Funding Request
  • Complete

Organization Qualifications

Applicants will be scored based on their qualifications as a swimming instruction facility.

This grant is intended to cover the cost of equipment or staff training for adaptive swim programs. This may include equipment for students to use during lessons, certifications for staff to learn adaptive swim curricula, or small improvements to the facility in which adaptive lessons are hosted. 

This grant is NOT intended to cover the cost of swim lessons (please change your funding request type to "teach swim lessons"; note that adaptive swim lessons may be subsidized using the Water Safety Grant).

Organization Qualifications

This grant aims to increase the total number of students from low-income households receiving free lessons statewide. It is NOT intended to cover the costs of subsidized lessons already being offered with organizational funding.

Please use this application to describe how this grant funding would expand your organization’s ability to provide free lessons for new students from low-income households. Applicants who demonstrate this intent by explaining how this grant funding will increase their ability to teach additional students will receive higher scores.