The Roetheli - Lil' Red Foundation
Official website for The Roetheli Lil’ Red Foundation (North Kansas City, MO), the private foundation led by Joe and Judy Roetheli. The site states the foundation’s mission to inspire and empower others and describes outreach focus areas including housing & education, pet therapy, entrepreneurship, and inspirational media; it includes donate, news, galleries, and contact pages.
Source: Website · Mar 2026
Ideal Applicant
A visible nonprofit or project in Missouri or nearby states with programs in education/scholarships, housing, veterans, animal welfare, or capital/scholarship needs and an existing referral or relationship to the foundation.
Good Fit
- • Location in Missouri or the broader Midwest, or a clear regional tie.
- • Work in education, scholarship funds, affordable housing, veterans’ services, or animal-assisted/animal-welfare programs.
- • Clear, public organizational profile that can be discovered by the foundation.
- • Programs seeking capital gifts or named scholarships.
- • An existing introduction, referral, or history of prior contact with foundation leadership.
- • Capacity to receive one-time moderate-to-large grants in addition to smaller awards.
Geography
Giving is regionally concentrated: the foundation funded organizations in six states in 2024 (and up to 12 across earlier years) with roughly 57% of dollars staying in Missouri, indicating a state/regional footprint rather than a national program.
Recipient Variety
Across the observed years the foundation funded many distinct independent organizations (25 in 2022, 24 in 2023, 14 in 2024) across a wide set of purposes, and new grantees appear each year, showing a broad recipient set for a small private foundation.
New Applicants
The foundation does fund new recipients regularly (e.g., 8 new grantees in 2024 and 14 in 2023) but filings and the application profile state grants are to preselected applicants, so unfamiliar organizations could be funded but likely need identification or referral rather than an open application.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
