The writing isn't the hard part. The readiness is.
Ready. Set. Fund! is a funder readiness consultancy based in Cañon City, Colorado. We help nonprofits and local governments prepare for and pursue funding. We work with organizations of all types, with specialized expertise serving rural communities and small, resource-constrained organizations.
We bring organizational readiness, grant-writing, project management, strategic planning, and evaluation together to support organizations throughout the funding process. Sometimes that means writing a funding proposal; sometimes coaching your team to write it; and sometimes helping develop or strengthen an organization, project, or program before funding is pursued.
We believe the work of every organization we serve matters. Nonprofits and local governments play essential roles in strengthening communities and improving people's lives, and we respect the commitment behind that work.
Our Approach
For many organizations, grant development is one responsibility among many. We provide the capacity, expertise, and support to help them pursue funding while staying focused on the work they do best.
Grant and Funder Readiness Assessment
We start with a clear readiness assessment. We look at where your organization stands today and find the gaps that hold you back. Then we give you simple, practical steps to fix them. When your plans, data, and documents are in order, you are ready to compete for grants without starting from scratch each time.
Strategy and Project Management
Funders want to see a clear plan and a well-run project before they invest. We help you with strategic planning and project management from start to finish. Together we set priorities, define your projects, and build the structure funders expect. Then we help you keep the work organized and on track, so nothing important slips through the cracks.
Competitive Positioning
Your work matters, and funders should see why. We help you tell your story, show your community impact, and prove your results with real numbers. Learn how our competitive positioning work helps you stand out, and how we help you read shifts in funder priorities before those shifts cost you.
Funding Resilience
Relying on one funding source is risky. We review your current funding mix and provide ideas and recommendations for diversifying your funding portfolio. Our funding resilience work helps you identify opportunities to build a more balanced and resilient funding base, so your organization is better positioned when funder priorities shift.
Grant Writing and Coaching
We write grants, and we teach your team to write them, too. Some organizations want us to handle the whole application from start to finish. Others want to build the skill in house, so we start side by side and hand off more of the work as confidence grows. Our grant writing and coaching works either way, and we can review drafts or previously declined applications to identify potential weaknesses and opportunities to improve.
Grant Readiness and Writing Results
Ready. Set. Fund! is a new practice, but the experience behind it is not. Mandy Rossi has helped nonprofit organizations secure more than $1.6 million in grant funding for programs addressing homelessness, veteran services, food security, youth and workforce development, pediatric cancer, and STEM education. She has also helped rural government clients secure more than $8.5 million in federal grant and legislative dollars for transportation, infrastructure, economic development, aviation, recreation, and community projects.
Explore Our Approach
