POUGHKEEPSIE, NY … Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino today announced $85,295 has been awarded to four non-profit youth team sports organizations offering free team sports programs for underserved children under the age of 18 through New York State’s Youth Team Sports (YTS) grant program. Additional funding is still available for eligible organizations.
Dutchess County Executive Serino said, “Dutchess County is dedicated to making sure all kids, no matter their background, can take part in activities that support their physical, mental and emotional health. These Youth Sports Teams grants give young people valuable opportunities to not just to play sports, but to gain important skills that will help them succeed as they grow.”
These grants, ranging from $16,805 to $25,000, create opportunities for young people in need to take part in sports programs that help them grow physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. Team sport activities can lower stress, anxiety and depression; strengthen social skills and teamwork; and reduce the likelihood of substance use or other risky behaviors.
Projects funded through the 2026 Youth Team Sports Program include:
Dover Little League (Dover Plains), Batters Up for a Brighter Future, $25,000 – Providing competitive baseball and softball program in Dover, which offers all players with a safe, supportive place to build key skills, to players at no cost.
Northern Dutchess Aquatic Club (Red Hook), Long Course and Dryland Training, $16,805 – Offering a free, eight-week long session at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson for swimmers, ages 6-13, and free dryland training for swimmers, ages 14-18.
NY FLIGHT 845, Inc. (City of Poughkeepsie), Youth Team Sports, $18,490 – Provide free, year-round, after-school, open-gym basketball training at the Family Partnership Center in the City of Poughkeepsie that builds basic skills for middle- and high-school students, while also continuing the Kingdom Classic Tournament for fourth-graders and rising seventh-graders.
YMCA of Kingston (Kingston), Youth Basketball League 2026, $25,000 – Dutchess County youth, ages 7-15, can take part in a free, six-week summer basketball league at Greenvale Park in the Town of Poughkeepsie, designed to boost fitness, improve skills and help develop teamwork and good sportsmanship.
There is still funding available through the YTS grant program, for the program year Jan. 1, 2026, to Sept. 30, 2026, for local youth-serving organizations that provide free team sports opportunities to young people under age 18. This funding opportunity defines a “team sport” as an organized physical activity in which groups of two or more individuals compete with two or more opposing individuals.
Eligible applicants should be either a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or other community-based organization with a federal identification number, operating in Dutchess County with the ability to meet the County’s insurance requirements. All funding requests must be for a program that provides free, direct services to all youth.
Applications must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Dec. 23 to the Division of Youth Services through the online grant portal, available at https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=dc. Please visit the Division’s NYS Office of Children and Family Services (NYS OCFS) Grant Funding webpage for more comprehensive information regarding this program and how to apply.
