Kelly Costello is the director of grants management at Rose Community Foundation, overseeing grant operations strategy, processes, compliance and reporting for all grants made by the Foundation, including those initiated by the Foundation’s fiscally sponsored projects, funding collaboratives, and initiatives.

Costello brings over 10 years of experience in grants management. Before joining Rose Community Foundation in February 2020, Costello was the first Grants Manager at the Buell Foundation and also served as the Program/Communications Coordinator. In that role, he established and streamlined processes for grantmaking in the areas of early childhood development and teen pregnancy prevention. Before that, he was the Grants and Data Manager at the Gill Foundation, which focuses on LGBTQ advocacy and public education. Prior to entering the world of grants management, he held jobs in a variety of fields, ranging from education to anti-violence to event planning.

Originally from Philadelphia, Costello holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a minor in mathematics from American University in Washington, DC. He moved to Denver in 2003 and is proud to call Colorado his home. Costello is the chair of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of PEAK Grantmaking and has served on the leadership team since 2017. In his free time, he enjoys babysitting his friends’ kids, going to see (or just listening to) musicals and spending time with his partner, Jake.