Nashville Entrepreneur Center · Development
SWOT Brief · June 2, 2026 · For Sam, Donna, Lauren
Development Dept · SWOT · June 2, 2026

One doer left. One leader leaves Aug 24. NEXT Awards is October 19.

The development department is between two cliffs and the biggest event of the year sits on the far side. This brief maps the moment honestly — what's strong, what's exposed, and the five decisions that need to be made now.

What's inside
  • 01 The headline
  • 02 The bench
  • 03 The 8-week window
  • 04 SWOT
  • 05 Where the timeline is most at risk
  • 06 Five decisions Sam should make now
01 · The headline

The window that matters is Aug 24 → Oct 19.

Two departures overlap with NEXT Awards crunch. Chloe has left. Lauren goes on maternity leave Aug 24. NEXT Awards is Oct 19. In that 8-week window the department is effectively Donna plus a possible new hire, a possible intern, and Marketing support — running the largest event of the year.

The Cookbook is the most valuable thing in the building right now. Chloe documented Bloomerang, the NEXT timeline, McWhorter renewals, invoicing, ticketing, and acknowledgments on her way out. That makes a new hire onboardable and gives Donna a reference. Almost no nonprofit gets this gift.

The new JD is a real upgrade, not a like-for-like backfill. Events & Giving Manager is $65–72K, 3+ years, project management ownership, and full event lifecycle. Right scope. Wrong timing unless an offer lands fast — the realistic start date is late July or mid-August, which means onboarding during Lauren's handoff.

An event intern is worth exploring. Summer is awkward for college hires, but a fall-through-NEXT engagement (late July → Oct 19) is the cleanest way to absorb tactical work and free both Lauren's handoff weeks and the new hire's ramp. No specific candidate locked — but the option should be on the table.

The numbers

Today
June 2, 2026
Lauren's leave
Aug 24, 2026
Toast
Aug 19, 2026
NEXT Awards
Oct 19, 2026
Runway w/ Lauren
12 weeks
Exposure window
8 weeks (Aug 24 → Oct 19)
Chloe's open tasks
30+ across NEXT, Toast, McWhorter, Endowment
Open req
Events & Giving Manager · $65–72K
02 · The bench

Four roles, two cliffs, one big event.

Where each member of the development department sits today and what they're carrying through the rest of 2026.

Donna Mattick

Chief Strategic Alliances Officer

Owns committee cadence, sponsorship sales, endowment, Toast logistics, run of show. Carries the most weight after Aug 24.

In seat

Lauren McWhirter

VP, Investor Relations

Co-owns NEXT HOF, sponsor ads/calls, run of show, EES coordination, table assignments — plus The Room (Nov) and both Silver McWhorter Events. Planning to work through Aug 24; due date is firm but the leave could start earlier.

Out ~Aug 24

Chloe Cook

Donor Relations Associate

Was the doer. Bloomerang, invoicing, acknowledgments, ticketing, Jotforms, signage, McWhorter renewal tracking. Wrote the Cookbook on the way out.

Departed

Events & Giving Manager

Replacing Chloe's seat

Reports to Chief Strategic Alliances Officer. $65–72K. Owns event lifecycle, donor stewardship, sponsorship fulfillment, NEXT applications.

Req open
03 · The 8-week window

What gets solved before Aug 24 determines what happens in October.

Three phases between now and NEXT Awards. The middle one is the survival zone — and the longest stretch the department has ever run without a full bench.

Phase One · Runway

12 wks

Jun 2 → Aug 24. Lauren in seat. Maximum leverage moment. Hire, train an intern, transfer Chloe's open tasks, fix Bloomerang mapping, complete Toast.

Phase Two · Exposure

8 wks

Aug 24 → Oct 19. Lauren out. NEXT in execution. Whoever isn't trained by Aug 24 is a risk on Oct 19. Plan for the leave to start sooner — due dates move.

Phase Three · Rebuild

10 wks

Oct 19 → Dec 31. The Room (Nov) and Silver McWhorter Event #2 (Nov) — both Lauren-owned, both during her leave. New hire's first owned event.

Department capacity through Dec 31NEXT Awards · Oct 19
Runway · Full bench possible
Exposure · Donna + new hire + intern
Rebuild · Lauren returns
Jun 2Aug 24Dec 31
04 · SWOT

The honest read of where we actually are.

Strengths

What's working in our favor

  • The Cookbook exists. Chloe documented Bloomerang, NEXT timeline, McWhorter, invoicing, acknowledgments, and ticketing on her way out. Rare and load-bearing.
  • The 7-month timeline is already built. Donna's 5/31–12/31 sheet maps every project, action, and owner. Gaps are visible, not hidden.
  • The new JD is a real upgrade. Events & Giving Manager scopes higher than Chloe's old Donor Relations Associate role — right shape for the moment.
  • Lauren still has 12 weeks. Enough runway to transition, train an intern, and onboard a new hire if hiring moves fast.
  • NEXT infrastructure is mature. Committee cadence, sponsorship pipeline, judging process, EES venue relationship — all proven.
Weaknesses

What we're exposed on today

  • Most of Chloe's open tasks still need permanent owners. Mira is covering Bloomerang entry through July. Toast Eventbrite (due 7/1), judges' Jotforms (due 6/30), McWhorter record-keeping, and sponsor fulfillment tracking are still unassigned.
  • Bloomerang → Xero mapping is broken and Chloe flagged in the Cookbook she didn't fix it. Online payments aren't routing to the right funds. Compounding silently — a process risk, not a person risk.
  • Knowledge concentration risk. Only Chloe knew the LBMC handoff, the Jotform setup, and the sponsor-fulfillment status. None of it lives in another head yet.
  • Lauren is overloaded. NEXT HOF, sponsor ads, run of show, EES, table assignments, The Room, both Silver McWhorter Events, McWhorter renewals.
  • Lauren's leave date is firm but not guaranteed. Aug 24 is the plan — a due date can move. Cross-training has to assume the leave starts a week or two earlier.
Opportunities

What this moment opens up

  • An event intern is worth exploring. Frame as fall-through-NEXT, not a summer job. Absorbs Toast logistics and day-of NEXT — frees Lauren's handoff and the new hire's ramp.
  • Forcing function to fix Bloomerang mapping before a new hire inherits the mess. Two weeks of cleanup now saves months of confused reporting.
  • Cookbook becomes onboarding gold. New hire walks in with documented systems on day one.
  • The Room (November) is the new hire's first owned event. Lower stakes than NEXT, after the dust settles. Gives them a win.
  • Lauren's leave is an explicit cross-training exercise that should've happened anyway. Forces it.
Threats

What could go wrong

  • NEXT execution risk is real. Sponsor fulfillment, ticketing, table assignments, day-of logistics all sit in the Aug 24 → Oct 19 gap. One missed sponsor benefit damages the biggest-check relationships.
  • Lauren's leave could start earlier than Aug 24. Due dates move. If she's out two weeks early, NEXT ramp loses its most experienced operator at the worst possible moment. Plan accordingly.
  • McWhorter renewal momentum stalls if Bloomerang tracking lapses. Donna needs accurate renewal status at committee meetings.
  • Hiring under pressure → bad-hire risk. Posting fast with a hard deadline is the easiest way to mis-hire the role.
  • Bloomerang mapping bug becomes an audit problem if it persists into year-end reporting.
  • Concentration around Donna post-Aug 24. Without cross-trained backup on sponsor fulfillment and NEXT run-of-show, any pull on her time — board, endowment, illness — creates NEXT exposure.
05 · Where the timeline is most at risk

The dates we should be tracking, in order.

Each row pulled from Donna's 5/31 → 12/31 timeline. Severity is a read on what happens if the owner gap persists.

June 15
High
NEXT applications sent to LBMCDonna + Lauren. Live this week. No buffer if delayed.
June 30
High
Judges' Jotforms builtChloe-owned. No current owner. Drives all of July judging.
July 1
High
Toast Eventbrite + Bloomerang ticketing liveChloe-owned. Blocks Toast invitations and presale email cadence.
July 6
Med
Trophies ordered from Southern TrophyChloe-owned. Long lead time — late order risks Oct 19.
July 1–24
High
NEXT volunteer judgingChloe + Lauren co-owned. Daily coordination during a hiring window.
July 14
Med
Silver McWhorter Event #1Lauren end-to-end. Last big event before her leave window starts narrowing.
Aug 19
High
Toast — NEXT finalist announcementChloe owned 8 line items including day-of reminders, vendor counts, decor setup, selfie frame. Five days before Lauren's leave.
Aug 24
High
Lauren's maternity leave beginsCliff. Anything not handed off by this date is stranded.
Sep 1 – Oct 9
High
NEXT pre-event productionQR handouts, dietary restriction cards, directional signs, alphabetical signs — all on Chloe's lines.
Oct 12 – Oct 19
High
NEXT weekTable assignments, day-of reminders, sponsor wrap. Chloe + Lauren co-owned. Donna alone unless backfilled.
November
Med
The Room + Silver McWhorter Event #2Both Lauren-owned, both fall during her leave. New hire's first owned events if onboarded in time.
06 · The decisions Sam should make now

Five calls that change the next 8 weeks. None can wait until July.

  1. Name owners for Chloe's remaining open tasks. Mira is covering Bloomerang entry through July — that piece is held. Still unassigned: Toast Eventbrite setup (due 7/1), judges' Jotforms (due 6/30), McWhorter record-keeping, sponsor fulfillment tracking. Options: Lauren (already overloaded), Donna (highest cost), Rob/Marketing (can carry ticketing comms), contract help. Name owners by line item this week.
  2. Decide whether to bring on an event intern. A fall-through-NEXT engagement (late July → Oct 19) absorbs tactical event work and takes pressure off Lauren's handoff and the new hire's ramp. No specific candidate is locked, but the option should be on the table — not deferred.
  3. Set a realistic hire-or-bridge call by July 1. If the Events & Giving Manager isn't going to start before Aug 1, the new hire onboards during Lauren's handoff — the worst possible time. Decision: accept a slower start, or bring in a contract event manager for Aug 24 → Oct 19. Don't drift into the answer.
  4. Fix the Bloomerang → Xero mapping in June. Two days with Bloomerang Fundraising Support, per the Cookbook. Don't hand a broken donor data system to a new hire. The bug compounds every month it isn't fixed.
  5. Write Lauren's transition plan by July 1. Explicit list of what she hands off, to whom, by when — covering NEXT execution items, The Room, Silver McWhorter Event #2, and McWhorter renewals. The timeline still shows her name on items through November. That's a planning gap, not just a personnel one.