AOAP Swim Lesson Grant

The AOAP Swim Lesson Grant aims to enhance drowning prevention by providing financial support to aquatic facilities for swim lessons and life jackets. With a minimum allocation of $10,000 annually, the program seeks to offer at least 100 free lessons to low-income participants and distribute 500 life jackets each year. It encourages non-profit organizations to apply, ensuring a focus on education and safety in aquatic environments. This grant represents a significant step towards making swimming accessible and safe for all.

Swim Lessons and Life Jacket Grant Program
The Association of Aquatic Professionals (AOAP) are taking applications for the swim lesson and/or lifejacket grant program to help aid aquatic facilities in their drowning prevention efforts. The AOAP drowning prevention grant offers funding opportunities for organizations to provide education and awareness of life jacket safety.
Background
The Association of Aquatic Professionals is a domestic 501(c)3 Non-Profit Corporation and is run by an all-volunteer Board of Directors and Executive Director. The AOAP exclusively promotes and advocates policies, practices and procedures that contribute to safety and improvements in aquatic education, aquatic recreation activities, programs, and facilities.
As part of its drowning prevention education program, RESPECT the Water, the AOAP is working to build and maintain a national network of partners to address issues of drowning prevention, learning how to swim and life jacket safety. A portion of all proceeds generated by AOAP will be used towards drowning prevention, i.e. for learn to swim lessons and life jackets.
The AOAP allocates a minimum of $10,000 annually for the life jacket and swim lesson grant program. An annual goal for AOAP is to provide a minimum of 100 free lessons to under-privileged participants and to purchase and provide a minimum of 500 lifejackets annually for organizations to use in their water safety efforts.
AOAP Goals of the Grant Program:
Provided financial support to organizations for swim lesson programs.Provide a minimum of 100 free swimming lessons to participants from low-income families.($500 max per organization)
Purpose of the Swim Lesson Grant Program
The purpose of the swim lesson grant is to provide resources to our AOAP members, by providing funds to offer learn to swim programs to people that may otherwise not have the opportunity to learn to swim or be educated about drowning prevention. A maximum of $500 of grant funds may be awarded per organization.

Eligibility

Requirements to Apply for the Swim Lesson Grant:Local municipalities, universities and swim lessons providers must be a current AOAP member for at least 1 year (calendar year).Agencies that apply must be considered a non-profit organization.Applicants must provide details on how the swim lesson funds will be utilized. Applicants must identify how drowning prevention education will be promoted within a learn to swim program.As an AOAP member, you have the opportunity to apply for either the Swim Lesson Grant or the Life Jacket Grant or both at the same time. If you are awarded for one of the grants, you can apply for the other one right away.
You must be a member of this organization to apply for this award - become a member. In order to qualify to apply for a grant you must be a current member of AOAP for at least one full year and have renewed your membership at least once.

Ineligibility

Agencies awarded the swim lesson grant will not be eligible to receive further swim lesson grant funding for the following 2 years.The Association of Aquatic Professionals will NOT accept:Applications which are late or incomplete.Applications seeking funding for any purpose other than providing free or reduced-cost swim lessons. Grant funds are not intended to provide budget relief, support facility overhead.Please note that if you do not meet the membership requirement we will not be able to consider you for a grant at this time.