Applications for Community Partnership Funding 2025/26 are now open.

Water Safety New Zealand’s funding priorities are targeted to areas where drowning risk can be reduced.

With ongoing support from the Lotteries Grants Board, Sport New Zealand, and ACC we can invest in organisations and projects that are working to address the root causes of drowning in Aotearoa.

Every year, we need to do more with less. Over the past four years, a consistent funding process has helped improve high-priority programmes and build strong partnerships. Funding available for distribution in 2025/26 has decreased by $150,000 compared to last year’s funding, through a reduction in support from ACC. We anticipate funding requests are likely to exceed what is available and acknowledge that we won’t be able fund initiatives to the same level we’ve been able to in recent years.

In 2025/26 there are two funding priorities for groups most at risk and over-represented in drowning statistics, and groups under-represented in current water safety education efforts. By narrowing the focus of funding priorities, we are supporting New Zealand’s water safety community to make the biggest impact on stubborn drowning realities. We focus on achieving the greatest impact for the long-term.