New York’s Massive Allocation For State Swimming Facilities

A new and massive round of capital grant funding was just announced by the Governor's Office for the NY SWIMS Initiative, New York Statewide Investment in More Swimming. The program, which works to allow municipalities and nonprofits across the state to expand safe swimming opportunities, will have have access to major funding to improve and grow services and programs. Funds will go towards the creation of new swimming facilities (pools, natural swimming areas) or improvement of existing ones.

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Second Round of 'SWIMS' Funding Announced by Governor Hochul

An incredible $53 million in capital grants has been made available by Governor Hochul's office to expand access for New Yorkers to safe swimming facilities. To date, this program has funded 37 projects across New York with nearly $150 million in capital grant funding.

These multi-millions of dollars in grants will be distributed to swimming facilities across the state as part of the second round of the New York Statewide Investment in More Swimming (NY SWIMS) Initiative. In a detailed press release on Tuesday, August 12th, the Governor's Office shared that NY SWIMS provides 'competitive matching grants for the construction, renovation and improvement of swimming pools and natural swimming areas that will serve communities statewide.' A minimum of $25 million dollars of this allocation has been reserved specifically for projects in underserved communities in order to ensure equitable access to safe swimming.

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Grant Funding Across New York State

Those municipalities and nonprofit organizations in New York that are eligible to apply for grant funds can request from $250,000 up to $10 million. Projects that are eligible for this specific funding include 'design, construction, renovation or improvement of swimming facilities and related infrastructure such as bathhouses, public restrooms and accessibility features.' Those who receive grant funding must be able to provide a '20% match' towards the total cost of the project, demonstrate site control, provide detailed project budgets, and nonprofits are required to obtain prequalification status.

Applications are being accepted from September 24th through October 30th, with the anticipated announcement of grant recipients no earlier than December 15th.

With a focus on New York's commitment to both equitable access to swimming and water safety at facilities across the state. Governor Hochul shared the following:

The NY SWIMS Initiative represents our commitment to getting people to put down their devices and spend time outdoors by ensuring every community across New York has the infrastructure needed to keep families safe while promoting physical activity and community connections. These investments will create lasting benefits for generations of New Yorkers.