Building LX
to Last
Eighteen years in, this was the year we built for the next eighteen.
Year in Review2026The Leadership Experience
The Year
Five ways we built for permanence.
Clarity
We finally know who we are.
Capital
Member gifts and an endowment.
Impact
Our people move on what matters.
Insight
From anecdote to evidence.
Infrastructure
The plumbing that makes it last.
Clarity · Membership
We finally know who we are.
500+
have come through LX over 18 years
260
committed members today
The big number is our legacy. The committed number is the real base we build everything else on.
Clarity · Expansion
LX went to Fort Wayne.
Capital
We built LX to fund itself.
$2,400
per member, per year: the new giving base
$2M+
committed to the endowment, toward a $3–5M goal
The biggest shift was moving to membership: annual gifts from our 260 committed members, not dues. Paired with an endowment that just crossed $2M, LX now has two engines that fund it for good.
Impact · Atlas Free
Our people give big.
- $330K+ committed by LX folks at the Atlas Free Gala
- To help end human trafficking
- Proof our members don't just belong. They move.
Impact · Give Together
A new rhythm of generosity.
- Launched our first Give Together event
- Collective generosity, not a one-off
- Something the community does together, on purpose
Impact · SPIF
Generosity, in secret.
- Launched Secretly Paying It Forward, born out of LX
- Over $15K raised
- Members quietly meet real needs for neighbors facing hardship
Insight · Longitudinal Study
From anecdote to evidence.
142
alumni surveyed across 17 years of LX, a 53% response rate
90%
said LX met or exceeded their expectations
¼
named a new sense of belonging as their single biggest outcome
“LX isn't typical leadership development. It's a friendship network that reshapes how leaders show up in every sphere.”
Infrastructure · The Board
The board grew up.
- Changed the fiscal year
- Defined the new member process and LX Guides
- Reduced the cohort size for more intentionality
- Built member support: Celebration & Mourning
- Launched the OKR dashboard
- Less visible, but this is the plumbing that makes the rest sustainable.
Leadership
Built to outlast us.
- Launched a board working group to reimagine governance
- Teeing up our leadership expansion so LX exists long into the future
- Intentional, not reactive. The whole year served this.
In Sum
We made LX for longevity.
We didn't just run a good year. We built the foundation for the next eighteen.
