About Ready. Set. Fund!

Funder Readiness for Rural Nonprofits and Local Governments

Our work grew from seeing how often capable organizations are asked to do more with less. When funder development is one responsibility among many, even strong organizations can struggle to find the time and capacity to prepare strategically.

Our goal is to help you be prepared when the right funding opportunity comes along—so you're not starting from scratch with every opportunity. We help you make informed funding decisions and build the capability to pursue a wide range of opportunities over time.

We help organizations build the foundation, strengthen the capability, and pursue the opportunity—so they are prepared to respond when the right funding opportunities come along.

Ready. Set. Fund! is based in Cañon City, Colorado, and works with rural nonprofits, small local governments, special districts, and tribal governments across Southern Colorado, the Royal Gorge region, and Fremont, Custer, and Chaffee counties.

We Don't Promise Funding. We Focus on Readiness.

No consultant can guarantee a grant award. We help you assess whether your organization, project, or program is ready to pursue funding and identify what needs to be strengthened, from organizational capacity and project development to outcomes, partnerships, information, and documentation—so you are prepared when the right opportunities come along.

What You Can Expect

We provide honest assessment, practical guidance, and the capacity to help you move forward—whether you need us to write, work alongside your team, or help you build the skills to do it yourself. We look beyond the next application to help you prepare for the opportunities that come after it.

Who We Serve

Local Partners Across Southern Colorado

Ready. Set. Fund! was built for rural, small, and resource-constrained organizations doing important work with limited staff, time, and funding-development capacity. We understand that in a small community, one person may be doing the work of several.

We work with:

Rural nonprofits
Rural local governments
Tribal governments
Special and public districts

Organizations navigating funding shifts
Lean teams wearing many hats
Leaders and boards doing more with less
Organizations that want to be ready before they apply

We specialize in helping organizations that do not have a grant department or a dedicated development team, but still need a practical way to build funding capacity.

Wherever your organization stands today, our goal is the same: help you build the readiness, strategy, and funding capacity to move your work forward and strengthen the communities you serve.

Mandy Rossi

Owner and Founder

Amanda “Mandy” Rossi, M.A. is the founder of Ready. Set. Fund! and a retired U.S. Army officer with experience in grant development, funder research, strategic planning, project management, program evaluation, and organizational readiness.

After 25 years in the Army, Mandy transitioned her experience in strategic planning, organizational leadership, workforce planning, policy analysis, and complex project management to the nonprofit and community-development sector. She earned a Master of Arts in Grant Writing, Management, and Evaluation from Concordia University Chicago, building on graduate education in conflict management and stakeholder engagement and a bachelor’s degree in government and politics.

Before founding Ready. Set. Fund!, Mandy developed corporate, foundation, and federal grant proposals for nonprofit and government clients, conducted funder research and readiness assessments, developed funding strategies, and supported projects serving rural and economically distressed communities.

Today, Mandy brings that multidisciplinary experience together to help organizations prepare before, during, and beyond the grant application—whether the need is organizational readiness, project or program development, funding strategy, grant writing, or implementation planning.

Her approach is straightforward: understand where an organization stands, identify what needs to be strengthened, and help build the capability to pursue funding opportunities effectively.

Mandy is a member of the Grants Professional Association and GPA Colorado Chapter. She lives in Cañon City, Colorado, where, when she's not working, she can usually be found on her rural property with her horses and barn cats, tending to her pollinator and vegetable gardens.

Readiness Is the Difference

Prepared organizations are better positioned to compete for funding

At Ready. Set. Fund!, we believe successful funding begins long before an application is written. The strongest organizations are not always the ones with the best writers. They are the ones that are truly prepared.

We help nonprofits and local governments build that readiness, from our home in Southern Colorado to communities well beyond it. Together we strengthen your planning, organize your projects, and get your information in order, so you can compete with confidence when the right opportunity comes.

We cannot promise the grant. But we can make sure your organization is as prepared, competitive, and fundable as possible. That is the readiness that turns hard work into real results for the communities you serve.

Over just two years, Mandy helped us secure more than $8.5 million in federal grant and legislative funding. Her expertise, responsiveness, organization, and commitment to our success were exceptional. After working with consultants across 11 cities and counties in nine states, I can confidently say Mandy is among the most professional, responsive, and supportive consultants I’ve worked with in nearly three decades as a Director and Grant Writer.

Zach Montgomery Planning & Community Development Director, Public Sector Client

Mandy has provided sound recommendations to our Board of Directors on positioning Emergent Campus through our public-facing messaging to appeal to funders across a range of sources. She has also provided valuable insight into the readiness requirements of federally funded workforce development projects. Mandy looks for every funding advantage available, and brings a clear, honest perspective to her recommendations.

Brad Rowland CEO, Emergent Campus

Mandy, at Ready. Set. Fund!, has been an invaluable resource and insightful support when assessing funder readiness for our organization. She identified challenges and provided solid recommendations for process improvement. From policies and procedures to program and budget analysis, Mandy can review it all and develop a comprehensive approach for moving forward and strengthening organizational funder readiness.

Kathleen Kennedy Chairman of the Board, Royal Gorge Chamber Alliance Foundation

Having worked with Mandy on numerous projects and federal funding opportunities with government clients, I can say that she brings a strategic perspective that few possess. She is not only highly skilled at grant writing; her real strength is helping communities prepare their projects to be competitive for funding. She seamlessly integrates with city and town staff, almost to the point of total immersion.

Kristen Krey, MA Certified Public Manager (CPM)

Mandy consistently exceeded my expectations. Her deep understanding of economic development, combined with exceptional research, strategic thinking, and innovative problem-solving, sets her apart. Her review of our capital project turned complex challenges into clear, actionable recommendations grounded in sound analysis and focused on long-term success. Her expertise, dedication, and collaborative approach make her an invaluable resource.

Diana Armstrong Deputy Director, Fremont Economic Development Corporation

Ready for Your Next Opportunity and Beyond?

Let’s talk about where your organization, project, or program is today, where you want to go, and what it will take to be prepared and competitive for funding.

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