The CDC Foundation is announcing a Request for Proposals (RFP) from eligible community-serving organizations interested in partnering with the CDC Foundation to expand access to basic swimming and water safety skills training among children aged 5 to 17 years.
Donor Name: CDC Foundation
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/30/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Teaching school-aged children basic swimming and water safety skills has been shown to be an effective drowning prevention strategy. According to the World Health Organization, basic swimming and water safety training programs are better suited for school-aged children as such programs can be incorporated at scale within school systems, require fewer instructors and are associated with faster skill acquisition. In seeking to reduce drowning among youth, the CDC Foundation plans to partner with community-serving organizations and school systems across the United States to deliver basic swimming and water safety skills training programs in states and communities with high incidences of drowning.
Funding Information
Maximum Payable Amount will not exceed $100,000 USD per community-serving organization.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must partner with a school, multiple schools or a school district to serve children ages 5–17 only.
- Eligible programs must have an in-water component to their swim skills program. A minimum of 240 minutes of in-water time per participant is required.
- Applicants should not have any affiliation with or received support from the tobacco industry or its associates in the past five years.
- Community-serving organizations include but are not limited to 501(c)(3) organizations, schools and school districts, universities and municipal governments operating in Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawai’i, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.
- Previous grantees awarded under the June 2023 Request for Interest and June 2025 Request for Proposals, “Supporting Community-Based Organizations to Pilot Basic Swimming and Water Safety Training for School-Aged Children in Select States” are eligible to apply and asked to complete the updated submission process. Priority will be given to new grantees in states where fewer applications were received.
For more information, visit CDC Foundation.
