Swim Safe for All

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Executive Summary

Swim Safe for All is a nonprofit in Florida that provides free swim safety education and beginner lessons to children from low-income families. Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1 to 4, and rates are much higher among Black, Hispanic and Native American children, who have historically had less access to lessons and pools.

Our mission is that no child in our community should drown because their family could not afford lessons. Certified instructors teach small groups at community pools, a lifeguard is on deck and a program van brings children who cannot get to the pool.

With this grant we will serve about 150 children in Year 1 at 3 pools. We do not promise that any child will be safe from drowning. Lessons reduce risk and do not remove it, and children always need adult supervision near water. We promise careful teaching, a lifeguard on deck and honest information for families.

Our Year 1 budget is about $177,000, growing to about $217,000 by Year 5 as we add sites, coaches and participants. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 5 staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, a part-time Program Coordinator and three part-time instructors) and 8 by Year 5.

We are asking the Sunshine Coast Children's Foundation for $55,000 for certified instructor stipends, van operation, swim equipment and outreach. Our other income and startup support cover the rest. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this proposal, and we do not promise any result beyond what we describe.

Company Description

Swim Safe for All is a nonprofit organization in Florida. We are a registered charity with a volunteer board of directors, a written conflict-of-interest policy and a yearly budget the board reviews.

Our mission. No child in our community should drown because their family could not afford lessons.

What we do.
- Run free swim safety and beginner swim lessons at three community pools.
- Teach water safety, floating, treading water and basic strokes in small groups.
- Provide transportation to the pool with a program van.
- Provide towels, goggles and personal flotation devices when needed.
- Teach parents and caregivers about water safety at home and around open water.
- Train and pay certified part-time swim instructors.

Our values. Respect for every participant, honesty with families, safety before winning and a place for every young person who wants to belong.

What we do not do. We do not charge families, and we do not promise that any child will be drown-proof. Swim lessons reduce risk and do not remove it, and children always need adult supervision near water. We do not give medical advice. We follow the rules of our partner sites and our insurer.

How we got here. A group of lifeguards, nurses and parents began offering free swim safety Saturdays at a community pool after a child in our neighborhood nearly drowned. The sessions filled quickly. We kept simple records of who came and what skills they learned. This proposal asks for support to move from Saturday sessions to a steady program with paid, trained coaches and the equipment to match.

Problem & Opportunity

Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death for young children, and rates are much higher among Black, Hispanic and Native American children, who have had less access to lessons and pools.

Cost. Private swim lessons can cost several hundred dollars a year per child. Many families cannot afford them, and some have never learned to swim themselves.

Access. Pools are not close to many neighborhoods, and families without a car cannot easily reach one. Free community pool programs often have short sessions and long waiting lists.

Safety and trust. Parents want to know that a lifeguard is on deck, instructors are trained and groups are small. Some are afraid of water themselves and do not know where to start.

Missed benefits. Children who cannot swim face real danger around water and miss summer fun and a lifelong fitness habit.

What we hear.
- A nurse says she sees preventable water accidents every summer.
- A mother says she is afraid every time her children are near a pool or a pond.
- A lifeguard says many teenagers cannot swim and are too embarrassed to say so.
- A teacher says a field trip to a pool had to leave half the class on the deck.

We do not claim that a sports program can solve every challenge. We believe that a lesson, a lifeguard and a patient instructor can save a life.

Products & Services

Swim Safe for All gives children from low-income families a safe, welcoming place to learn to be safe in the water.

How the program works.
1. Sites. We partner with three community pools that provide lane time and a lifeguard.
2. Sessions. Each session meets twice a week for six weeks, in the afternoon or on Saturday.
3. Small groups. Instructors work with no more than four children in the water at a time.
4. Skills. Children learn to float, tread water, swim a short distance and get out of the pool safely.
5. Water safety. Every session includes a short lesson on rules near pools, lakes, rivers and the ocean.
6. Transportation. A program van picks up children from partner sites when families have no way to get to the pool.
7. Parents. Families join a water safety talk and a final celebration.

What a typical session looks like. Participants arrive and check in with a coach, warm up together, work on skills in small groups, play a short game or drill and finish with a talk about what went well. Coaches praise effort, correct mistakes kindly and make sure no one sits out.

Coaches. Our instructors hold a current swim instructor certification and CPR and first aid training, pass a background check, complete our training and are paid a stipend.

Access and fairness. Programs are free. We welcome children of every ability, fear and background, and offer materials in English and Spanish.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Children ages 4 to 14 from low-income families who live near our partner pools and have little or no swim experience. Eligibility is based on school lunch status or income guidelines our board sets, and no young person is turned away for lack of skill.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every young person who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. In our Saturday sessions we served full pools and kept a waiting list. Schools, a pediatric clinic and a parks department told us that many more children need lessons than we can serve. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 150 young people at 3 pools. By Year 5, with more coaches and sites, we plan to serve about 350.

Where participants come from.
- Schools and school nurses.
- Pediatric clinics and community health centers.
- Parks and recreation staff.
- Families who tell a neighbor.

Who else benefits. Families gain peace of mind. Pools gain steady use. Neighborhoods gain a safer summer.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a child learning to float. We keep our early counts modest and honest so we can do the work well.

Competitive Landscape

What young people can find today, and how we are different.

1. Private swim schools. Excellent instruction at a cost many families cannot pay. We offer a free alternative.

2. Community pool lessons. Valuable and often limited by session length and waiting lists. We partner with pools and add capacity.

3. Parks and recreation programs. Often low cost, with large groups. We offer small groups and transportation.

4. Family and friends. Caring, and not always able to teach safely.

5. Online videos. No substitute for an instructor in the water.

What makes us different.
- Free to every child.
- Small groups and certified instructors.
- Transportation to the pool.
- Water safety lessons for families.
- A lifeguard on deck at every session.

Why this gap matters. Existing programs do good work, and most serve families who can already pay or who live close to them. The young people we serve are the ones left over: they live in the wrong neighborhood, have the wrong schedule or have no one to ask. We are built to reach them.

We have spoken with pool managers, pediatric clinics and other water safety programs to make sure we are filling a gap and not duplicating services. Their letters of support are in the attachments.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How young people and partners will find us.

Reaching young people.
- Schools. We will work with nurses and teachers to share a one-page sign-up form in English and Spanish.
- Clinics. We will leave flyers and give short talks to staff.
- Pools and parks. We will post flyers and hold open registration days.
- Families. We will hold a short information night before each session.
- Word of mouth. Many families will find us through a neighbor.
- A simple website and a phone line with a text option.

Reaching coaches and sponsors.
- Invite lifeguards, swim coaches and teachers through pools, schools and swim clubs.
- Offer an orientation, a background check and training in safety and in working with young people.
- Give partners a short report each quarter with counts of participants and what families said.

How we decide who joins. We use a simple sign-up form and enroll participants in the order received, with priority for families with the greatest need and for young people new to the sport. We keep a waiting list when teams are full.

What we watch. Sign-ups, attendance, skills passed, water safety lessons given and how many participants return for a second season.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the coaches and coordinator, buy equipment, finalize the waiver, consent form and privacy policy with our attorney and sign site agreements.
- Month 3 (September): Begin the first six-week sessions at three pools.
- Months 4 to 10: Run spring, summer and fall sessions with a water safety talk at the start of each.
- Months 11 and 12: Survey families, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. Lessons are held at three community pools, provided at low or no cost. We store equipment in locked bins and a program van.

Safety and privacy.
- A certified lifeguard is on deck at every session, and no more than four children are in the water with an instructor.
- Children wear flotation devices when the instructor says so.
- Every coach and volunteer passes a background check and completes safety training.
- Two adults are present at every session, and no adult is ever alone with a young person.
- We keep an emergency plan and a first aid kit at every site, and families complete an emergency contact form.
- We keep records private, share them only with a family's permission and follow a written policy.

Equipment. We buy about $14,000 of equipment once at the start: personal flotation devices and swim aids ($5,000), teaching platforms, lane gear and kickboards ($4,000), rescue and first aid equipment ($3,000), whiteboards, portable sound and storage ($2,000). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. A part-time Program Coordinator, paid $30,000 a year, handles schedules, vans and sign-ups. Three part-time certified instructors, each paid $12,000 a year, teach lessons. We add instructors as we add pools.

Management & Organization

Monica Alvarez, Executive Director. I lead the organization, report to the board and am responsible for budgets, partnerships and reporting. I came to this work as a lifeguard and swim instructor who saw how many children could not swim. I will complete the safety training we require of our instructors so I understand the program from the inside. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Coaches. Part-time certified swim instructors lead lessons, and each holds CPR and lifeguard training and passes a background check. These stipends are part of our grant request.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a pediatric nurse, a lifeguard, a parent, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney and a pool manager. The board meets every other month, approves our budget and reviews our safety plan. No board member is paid, and members with a conflict of interest step out of related decisions.

Advisory partners. A pediatrician, a parks department aquatics manager and a swim coach give guidance twice a year.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $48,000 a year; program Coordinator (part-time), paid $30,000 a year; certified Swim Instructor (part-time), paid $12,000 a year.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals, how we will measure them and when we plan to reach them.

Year 1 outcomes (July 2027 through June 2028):
- Serve about 150 young people at 3 pools.
- Run at least two full seasons and a summer session.
- Have at least 85 percent of participants attend most sessions.
- Have at least 80 percent of participants return for a second season.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 90 percent of families who answer our short survey.

What we count and how.
- Participants enrolled, sessions and games attended, from our records.
- Skills learned and goals met, from the coach's checklist.
- Equipment issued and returned, from our log.
- Participant and family feedback, from a short, confidential form.
We report what we find, including what did not work, and use it to improve.

Growth over five years.
- Year 2: About 200 young people at 3 pools.
- Year 3: About 250 young people at 4 pools.
- Year 4: About 300 young people at 4 pools.
- Year 5: About 350 young people at 5 pools.

Learning along the way. At the end of each quarter, the director and the board review the numbers and decide whether we are on track. If we are behind, we will adjust our outreach, our sites or our schedule before asking for more money.

After the grant. By Year 5, grants make up about 38 percent of our budget, down from about 56 percent in Year 1, as partners and donors give more. We will keep building those relationships every year.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $55,000 from the Sunshine Coast Children's Foundation for certified instructor stipends, van operation, swim equipment and outreach, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Certified swim instructors, three pools, part time, $36,000.
- Travel: Transportation van operation for three pools, $10,000.
- Supplies: Swim equipment: kickboards, floats and personal flotation devices, $6,000 (other funds add $2,000).
- Other: Outreach materials and program administration, $3,000.

Other money in the program. This request is about 56% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $177,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $7,200 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $99,000; city Health Department Grant $40,000; community Pool Partnerships $30,000; individual Donors $8,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $48,000; program Coordinator (part-time) $30,000; certified Swim Instructor (part-time) $12,000; pool Rental and Lifeguards about $22,000; transportation Van Operation about $10,000; swim Equipment Replacement about $6,000; water Safety Materials and Outreach about $3,000; instructor Certification about $3,000; administration and Insurance about $9,000; about $4,800 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $23,500 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $5,000 for personal flotation devices and swim aids; $4,000 for teaching platforms, lane gear and kickboards; $3,000 for rescue and first aid equipment; $2,000 for whiteboards, portable sound and storage; $2,500 for attorney review of the waiver, consent and privacy policy; $1,800 for banners, bilingual flyers and a simple website; $2,200 for lifeguard certification and background checks for the first instructors; $3,000 for first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($23,500), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $41,800, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $65,500. We start with $8,000 from our founding board and $60,000 in startup support from a community foundation and a local hospital, $68,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $177,000 in Year 1 to about $217,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $99,000, $88,500, $90,500, $80,500 and $83,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: city Health Department Grant from $40,000 to $64,000; community Pool Partnerships from $30,000 to $46,000; individual Donors from $8,000 to $24,000. Our surplus is planned at about $7,200 in Year 1, about $7,800 in Year 2, about $8,700 in Year 3, about $9,400 in Year 4 and about $10,500 in Year 5. We grow from 3 pools to 5 by Year 5, adding a part-time coach for each new site.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $56,900, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $7,080 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per child. In Year 1, our total costs are about $1,132 per child served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more child served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $590 per child.

After the grant. City health department funding, corporate sponsors and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Participants and families share their stories, and businesses can sponsor a team or a season by name. We will look for partnerships with schools and the city that want a safe, free swim option for every child.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- An injury. Certified coaches, proper equipment, groups matched by age and skill, a written emergency plan and insurance.
- A site is no longer available. We keep agreements with more than one site and a plan for bad weather.
- A coach leaves. We keep a list of trained backup coaches and share lesson plans.
- Low attendance. We adjust sites, times and rides based on family feedback.
- A privacy problem. We follow a written policy, use secure systems and train every staff member and volunteer.
- A grant ends. We keep savings and grow partner and donor support each year.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start smaller: one neighborhood, a handful of childs and a small team, tracked carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants easier to win.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach with this proposal:

- Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current year budget.
- A list of your board members and what each one does.
- Signed letters of support from partner schools, agencies and sites.
- Your site agreements and your insurance certificate.
- Your consent, waiver and privacy policy.
- Your safety plan and background check policy.
- Your program outline and schedule.
- Quotes for equipment and materials.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and key staff.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Grant Revenue: $99,000 in Year 1, growing to $83,000 in Year 5.
- City Health Department Grant: $40,000 in Year 1, growing to $64,000 in Year 5.
- Community Pool Partnerships: $30,000 in Year 1, growing to $46,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donors: $8,000 in Year 1, growing to $24,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $48,000; program Coordinator (part-time) $30,000; certified Swim Instructor (part-time) $12,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: pool Rental and Lifeguards $22,000; transportation Van Operation $10,000; swim Equipment Replacement $6,000; water Safety Materials and Outreach $3,000; instructor Certification $3,000; administration and Insurance $9,000. These grow between 4% and 5% a year.
- Equipment: $14,000 at the start, then $2,000 to $3,000 a year.
- Startup costs: $23,500, paid once from $68,000 in startup money.
- Young people served: about 150 in Year 1, growing to about 350 in Year 5. Sites: 3 in Year 1, growing to 5 by Year 5. Sessions run six weeks, twice a week, in spring, summer and fall.
- About 4% of each year's income is still owed to us at year end.
- Tax: none, as a nonprofit.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and real budget.

Startup Costs