Board Walk-Through · Read Ahead
A community foundation serves many overlapping communities — and a person's giving can overlap the same way. The question beneath it all: to what end does AVF exist? Today we follow the platform path, with LX as the first circle rather than the ceiling. This walk-through has five stops. We're not asking for a vote — we're asking for direction and appetite.
The five stops
Launching the Kids Donor-Advised Fund — the first product built on the circles thesis, and a whole new kind of giver: families. Parents guide, kids choose causes and recommend grants, no fees; at 18 the child takes full control. A circle in miniature.
We're askingYour reactions and positioning — where does it resonate, and who in your networks should hear about it first?
The bottleneck to growth isn't interest — it's a messaging gap. We lead with DAF mechanics when we should lead with community and simplicity. Four archetypes: the Newcomer, the Optimizer, the Believer, and the Skeptic — each needs a different opening.
We're askingWe aligned on this last retreat. Does it still hold, and what are the next steps?
An LX member is never only an LX member — they're also a resident of a city and a champion of a cause. Each is a circle AVF can serve: relational, geographic, interest-based. The recommendation is to name the platform for what it is — rename LX to the LX Community Foundation and position AVF as the shared platform beneath every circle.
We're askingDo we rename LX to the LX Community Foundation and position AVF as the platform of overlapping circles?
Each deposit directs 5% to collective giving (capped at $25K/year). Once a donor belongs to more than one circle, which circle receives it? Three ways to run it — A single home circle, B donor-allocated split, C tiered (a floor to the anchor, donor allocates the rest). Circles are earned as assets grow: ~$1.3M today → $5M → $20M → $50M+.
We're askingWhich 5% election model fits AVF — A, B, or C?
All of it — new circles, the kDAF, closing the messaging gap — needs an owner. Today vision, sales, and offering development sit in one role, and that's the constraint on scale. The rule is to hire behind assets; the one exception is the role that creates them. A high-A "hunter," funded now with a defined runway.
We're askingDo we fund a high-A Owner of Growth now, ahead of assets, as the catalyst?
Not a vote today — direction and appetite. Answer these in order and the path resolves itself.