2025 Year In Review
Our First Year of Transformational Philanthropy: 2025 Year in Review
As the first year of the William Guitar Little Foundation concludes, I wanted to reflect on the successes of advancing Bill’s legacy and establishing a path to creating transformational philanthropy. There was an urgency to move forward this year, and we were fortunate to have Bill’s vision well in place so we could quickly and intentionally operationalize his plan. Bill was proud of the initial work, and I’m confident he would approve of how the year ended and challenge us to move full steam ahead.
In addition to establishing our business operations at the beginning of this year, we also established an office home that reflects our identity and the values connected with Bill’s vision. As we continue to add finishing touches to the space next year, the office reinforces our culture that we mean business while also being designed to welcome all visitors and partners.
As a part of establishing the infrastructure of the Foundation, we also set up a successful grant process. This approach is rooted in our branded Prosperity Framework. The Framework is unique because of the commitment to advancing relationships with partners, not just providing funding. It’s a framework that leads through a continual cycle of discovery, connecting the dots, building capacity, and having a shared responsibility for measuring outcomes and transformational change.
During the second half of the year, the Little Foundation Board of Directors approved a series of grants, or what we call co-investments. We are proud of these co-investments and the promise they bring in advancing upward mobility and pathways to prosperity. Our 2025 co-investments include:
· $150,000 to support transitional housing at Love Columbia to help complete the 10-plex unit project.
· $200,000 to advance a matching grant campaign and support affordable housing efforts with Anderson Homes Foundation.
· $50,000 pilot collaborative effort involving systems and individual change through an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) project with Central Missouri Community Action.
· $695,130 as a three-year co-investment to support Career Advancement Pathways, a forward-thinking and highly collaborative workforce development project with Love Columbia.
· $147,900 as a matching gift for the Central Missouri Humane Society’s annual gala. This co-investment was made in honor of Bill’s passion for animals and as a part of the Little Foundation’s larger matching-gift challenge of $2.5 million to help advance the capital campaign at the Central Missouri Humane Society.
These five co-investments totaled $1,243,030. In addition, through issuing matching gift challenges, the Little Foundation helped raise more than $1,200,000 from other donors. Altogether, by pairing strategic co-investments with donor leverage, the Little Foundation generated close to $2,500,000 in economic impact for central Missouri in 2025!
As we further establish our relationships in central Missouri and look to the future, we will continue to advance our work through our Prosperity Framework while also using our “do’s and don’ts” as guideposts in our decision-making. We believe in Bill’s vision of prosperity, upward mobility, and opportunity. We are humbled by the partners who have joined us this year in raising expectations and connecting the dots. Thank you to everyone who joined us in advancing transformational philanthropy as part of Bill’s legacy.
Thank you and Sincerely,
Andrew Grabau
Executive Director