Alex Aryaan Helps Nonprofits Secure Millions in Grant Funding

During the Great Recession, Alex Aryaan’s family lost their home and their small business. As the oldest of 4, she put herself through school with scholarships, assistantships, and loans. One afternoon she sat in her car, crying and praying, and made a promise to herself and to God: if support ever came to her, she would pay it forward. That promise is the throughline in everything she builds.

Alex Aryaan is the founder of the Funding and Strategy Collaborative, a consultancy that helps early-stage and small-to-medium nonprofits secure grants, sponsorships, and strategic plans. She is also the founder of Mindful Founders Inc., a nonprofit that supports solopreneurs and freelancers through coaching, wellness resources, financial literacy, community, and micro-emergency grants. A member of the Entreprenista League, Alex has bootstrapped both organizations from day one. To date, her clients have accessed more than $8.7 million in grant funding.

"Everything I do comes back to one idea. When we strengthen the people and organizations building communities from the ground up, we create more equitable economies."

Here is how her promise made in a parked car grew into 2 organizations built to close wealth and opportunity gaps.

A promise that became a practice

Alex didn't set out to be a founder. She spent more than 7 years in research, strategy, project management, and organizational development across the public and education sectors, always drawn to servant leadership. She holds a master’s in urban planning and policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed Harvard Business School Online’s Certificate of Specialization in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

The decision to formalize came out of necessity. A client never paid her $8,000 invoice, and the fight to recover it taught her how much protecting yourself matters as a business owner. In September 2023, she incorporated the work she was already doing, and the Funding and Strategy Collaborative was born.

The $8.7 million milestone

The number Alex is proudest of is $8.7 million, the total grant funding her clients have secured to date. Behind that figure are real outcomes: shelter for families experiencing homelessness, programs for formerly incarcerated people rebuilding their lives, services for veterans, and opportunities for at-risk youth. And she isn't done. Her long-term goal is to help organizations access $100 million.

Building debt-free, on purpose

Alex has grown both companies without outside funding or debt, a choice rooted in her values. She built them as lifestyle businesses that grow through reputation, relationships, and results rather than capital. She is candid that bootstrapping is possible in part because her husband covers day-to-day costs, and she is grateful for that support.

Her patience comes with a cost she names honestly. “I’ve learned that relationships, marketing, and sales matter just as much as the product itself,” she says. Building a business takes far more time than talent alone.

A nonprofit for the people building everything else

Mindful Founders Inc. grew from what Alex saw missing in the startup conversation. The nonprofit gives solopreneurs and freelancers holistic support: coaching, wellness resources, financial literacy, peer community, and micro-emergency grants for the moments traditional funding never reaches.

The work is personal. As an introvert running 2 organizations largely on her own, Alex leans on interns and volunteers for accountability and human connection, and a recent season as a cold-weather case manager with the Salvation Army in Denver reminded her how much community outside the home office matters.

Systems for stepping back

Alex is building for sustainability. She is creating educational resources, templates, and standard operating procedures so both organizations can run smoothly even when she steps back. From there, she wants to expand the Funding and Strategy Collaborative’s consulting base, scale Mindful Founders’ coaching and micro-grant programming nationwide, and explore how AI tools can make grant seeking more accessible for smaller organizations.

You can connect with Alex on LinkedIn, learn about grant and strategy support at the Funding and Strategy Collaborative, and explore the coaching, community, and micro-grants at Mindful Founders Inc.

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If Alex's mission to strengthen the people and organizations building communities from the ground up resonates, the Entreprenista League is a community of women founders who value connection, shared experience, and practical business insight as they grow. Learn more about the Entreprenista League right here.