The Little Lion Foundation

What The Little Lion Foundation does

The Little Lion Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit (Federal EIN 81-3553796) founded in 2016 and headquartered in Long Beach, California, that delivers an integrated portfolio of cat rescue, foster, adoption, and community-cat wellness programs with a distinct focus on neonatal and underage kittens (under 8 weeks) who would otherwise be euthanized in public shelters. Its core programmatic assets are the Little Paws Project Kitten Nursery (opened 2019, scaled to roughly 500-600 kittens annually), an in-home Foster Program, a Community Foster Program (gated by a $20 non-negotiable enrollment donation per cat), the Kitten Prevention Program (TNVR, formed 2021), a free Community Cat Spay/Neuter Clinic launched in 2024 serving Long Beach, Signal Hill, Los Alamitos, and Cerritos, and an Affordable Wellness for Owned Cats service operated via LBCCatClinic.org. Adopters pay no adoption fee; the organization instead monetizes through tax-deductible donations accepted via PayPal, Venmo, Cuddly, Amazon Wishlist, direct veterinary-bill contributions to partner Primary Care Animal Hospital Bixby Knolls, and mailed checks.

The organization is entirely volunteer-run with no paid staff, governed by founder Jessica Otis (with co-founder Claudia Otis referenced), and partners operationally with Helen Sanders CatPAWS, Pet Food Express (retail adoption center in Long Beach), Shelterluv (application management), and Cuddly (donations). Underlying technology is deliberately minimal and SaaS-based rather than proprietary: a Squarespace website, Shelterluv for foster/adoption applications, third-party payment and donation platforms, and adoption listing syndication across Adopt-A-Pet, Petfinder, and "hundreds" of other adoption sites. Go-to-market is community-led and direct: volunteer recruitment drives nursery, adoption-center, TNVR, and remote administrative capacity, while word-of-mouth, earned media (The Dodo feature in 2020 and recurring Long Beach Post / Press Telegram / Grunion Gazette coverage), and social channels (Instagram, Facebook, email newsletter) drive adoptions and donations.

Quantitatively, the organization has been publicly credited with contributing to a reduction in Long Beach shelter euthanasia to roughly 12% of prior-decade levels, saved 434 kittens in a reported 9-month window in 2020, and serves a regional Southern California footprint. No revenue, budget size, or fundraising total is publicly disclosed in the source material, and there are no funding rounds, M&A, or parent-company relationships.

Name

The Little Lion Foundation

Legal name

The Little Lion Foundation

Website

https://littlelionfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Little Lion Foundation is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Long Beach, California that rescues, fosters, and adopts at-risk cats and kittens — particularly neonatal kittens under 8 weeks — via its Kitten Nursery, foster network, TNVR program, and community cat spay/neuter clinic serving Southern California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Animal Rescue and Welfare Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Animal Shelters & Adoption Services (BPAGAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Foster & Volunteer Network Programs (BPAGAIAF), Education & Community Outreach (Responsible Pet Ownership) (BPAGAIAK)

Keywords

• Cat rescue services
• Animal adoption programs
• Foster care services
• Trap neuter return
• Animal welfare nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donations via online platforms (Shelterluv, PayPal, Venmo), monthly recurring donations, and one-time contributions. Donors can also purchase items from Amazon Wishlist or donate supplies directly.
2. Community Foster Program Enrollment: Non-negotiable enrollment donation of $20 per cat for community members participating in the foster program. Low-cost vaccinations and medical treatments provided for specified donations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Little Lion Foundation is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit that rescues at-risk cats and kittens from public shelters, provides neonatal care through the Little Paws Project Kitten Nursery, places animals in volunteer foster homes, and facilitates permanent adoptions. It also operates the Kitten Prevention Program (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return) and the Community Cat Project free spay/neuter clinic to reduce cat overpopulation in the Long Beach area. All programs are funded through tax-deductible donations.

Product overview

The Little Lion Foundation operates as a single, unified non-profit organization offering a coordinated portfolio of cat rescue programs rather than a technology product. The core offerings include the Little Paws Project Kitten Nursery for neonatal care, foster and community foster programs for temporary housing, adoption services for permanent placement, the Kitten Prevention Program and Community Cat Project (TNVR) for population control, and volunteer/donation support functions. These programs work together as an integrated rescue pipeline—from intake of at-risk kittens through nursery care, foster placement, medical treatment, and eventual adoption—while prevention programs work upstream to reduce shelter intake through targeted spay/neuter services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Little Paws Project: A kitten nursery program dedicated to saving the tiniest and most vulnerable kittens in public shelters - those under 8 weeks old - by providing a safe environment for them to grow and thrive until adoption.

Products and services

• Kitten Nursery (Little Paws Project) Dedicated nursery facility providing round-the-clock care, medical assessment, two-week quarantine, and temporary housing for underage kittens under 8 weeks old rescued from public shelters, until they can be transferred for foster or adoption.
• Foster Program In-home foster care program in which volunteers care for rescued cats and kittens of all ages until adoption, with the foundation providing medical care and supplies while fosters provide food, litter, and enrichment.
• Community Foster Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 500-600 kittens saved annually since 2019
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Helen Sanders CatPAWScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Joint organization partnership to create the Little Paws Project Nursery. Three passionate leaders from Little Lion Foundation and Helen Sanders CatPAWS came together specifically to care for the city's overwhelming number of underage and neonatal kittens and help them become viable for adoption.
• Pet Food ExpresscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2019Partnership for cat adoption center at Pet Food Express location in Long Beach. LLF volunteers maintain the adoption center and care for kitties residing there, with volunteers assisting with adoption center maintenance to make the stay better for adoptable cats.
• Primary Care Animal Hospital Bixby KnollscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerVeterinary partner providing medical care for rescued animals. Located at 920 E Wardlow Rd, Long Beach, CA 90807. Donors can make direct contributions to cover veterinary bills at this hospital.
• CuddlyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThird-party donation platform that makes it easy for supporters to make monetary or supply donations. Cuddly has been a tremendous help by providing an easy donating platform for the organization's supporters.
• ShelterluvcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology platform used for adoption applications, foster applications, and volunteer applications. Shelterluv powers the adoption listings and application process on the organization's website.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ASPCA: National animal welfare organization with shelter, rescue, and spay/neuter programs. Overlaps with LLF's adoption, rescue, and population-control work but operates at massive scale with paid staff and government contracts.
• Humane Society of the United States: Largest U.S. animal protection organization with broad rescue, shelter, and policy advocacy programs. Overlaps with LLF's mission and advocacy work, though HSUS focuses more on national policy than local rescue operations.
• Maddie's Fund: National family foundation funding no-kill animal welfare initiatives, community cat programs, and shelter medicine. Operates as a grantmaker and capacity-builder rather than a direct rescue, but is highly comparable in advancing the same no-kill and community cat agenda.
• Best Friends Animal Society: Large national animal welfare nonprofit operating sanctuaries and running community cat programs. Operates broadly across the U.S. with a no-kill mission that overlaps LLF's euthanasia-elimination focus, though at vastly greater scale and with paid staff.

Regional players

• Lange Foundation: Los Angeles-based nonprofit dog and cat rescue with adoption and low-cost spay/neuter programs. Comparable in scale, mission, and Southern California geography, but with a broader species focus.
• Pets in Need: Northern California rescue and adoption organization operating foster-based programs and community spay/neuter services. Comparable volunteer-driven rescue and adoption model, but serving a different California geography.

Direct peers

• Helen Sanders CatPAWS: Long Beach-area cat rescue and adoption organization that co-founded the Little Paws Project Nursery with The Little Lion Foundation. Directly comparable mission, geography, and operating model (volunteer-driven cat rescue and adoption).
• FixNation: Los Angeles-based nonprofit focused exclusively on free spay/neuter and TNR for community cats. Directly comparable in mission, geography (Southern California), and the free-clinic service model LLF is launching.
• Alley Cat Allies: National advocacy and operational nonprofit dedicated to Trap-Neuter-Return programs and community cat welfare. Directly comparable to LLF's Kitten Prevention Program and Community Cat Project, though operating at a national policy and education scale.

Others

• PetSmart Charities: Major funder of U.S. animal welfare, adoption, and spay/neuter programs. Not a direct operational peer, but functions as a critical funding and adoption-partnership channel for small rescues like LLF and a relevant ecosystem participant.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/thelittlelionfoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/thelittlelionfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thelittlelionfoundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Little Lion Foundation