Battle over Swan Ball and its finances erupts into public view with new lawsuit

A battle over the finances of the Swan Ball that has thrown the white tie gala’s future into question has erupted into public view.

In a lawsuit filed Monday, a newly formed nonprofit claims that Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, the ball’s host site and beneficiary, has tried to wrest control of the event from its original organizers.

But in a letter obtained by The Tennessean, Cheekwood attorneys explain that Cheekwood is working to align the gala’s fundraising with national standards. Data in the letter shows that over the last three years, just 32% of the Swan Ball’s revenue goes to Cheekwood, well below what it says is the industry standard for prestigious charity events at 60% to 70%.

“The Swan Ball, in its current form, is not sustainable,” reads the letter written by attorney Maia T. Woodhouse from the firm Adams and Reese. “Lavish spending, resulting in such low fundraising efficiency ratios, is contrary to Cheekwood’s charitable objectives and guiding values, and likely shocking to Cheekwood’s donors.”

A statement provided by Woodhouse on behalf of Cheekwood reads in part that that the "dispute is about Cheekwood's commitment to fiscal responsibility and its donors."

Chanelle Acheson, attorney for the Swan Ball group suing Cheekwood, disagreed with the data analysis in the letter.

"In the analysis produced by Cheekwood, that data did not consider that almost $600,000 of the Swan Ball expenses (in 2023) were to build the infrastructure on the difficult site behind the Cheekwood mansion and to pay the two staff members in the Swan Ball committee office. That constitutes almost 30% of the (2023) total budget," Acheson said. "Most peer fundraising events, either hold their event in the venue of the beneficiary or have the venue donated. ... Cheekwood as the beneficiary has not provided that level of support ... to this fundraising event."

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee by a nonprofit called the SB Initiative, which identifies itself as the successor to the Swan Ball Committee, whose volunteer members “have created, organized and overseen the production” of the Swan Ball since it was first held in 1963.

The ball raises money to support and preserve the 1930s-era Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. The yearly ball is a high-profile society event featuring prominent guests in stunning gowns and formalwear and well-known musical guests. The 2024 Swan Ball was held on June 1.

Behind the scenes, things were contentious.

The lawsuit says that Cheekwood offered to take over the event’s bookkeeping and finances for first time ahead of the 2024 event.

“Not knowing that Defendant was planning a coup to try to take over the SWAN BALL gala, Plaintiff accepted Defendant's offer,” the lawsuit states.

From there, the lawsuit claims that Cheekwood “nefariously and covertly took complete control over accounting and bookkeeping services” before assuming control of other aspects of the event.

Woodhouse’s letter from Cheekwood paints a different picture. According to that letter, the “Swan Ball committee referenced in (a previous letter) letter is a department of Cheekwood from a legal, operational, and financial standpoint, reports to Cheekwood leadership, and relies on Cheekwood’s assets (including Cheekwood’s grounds and its Swan Ball Office) in its operations.”

Jana Davis, a member of the SB Initiative who chaired the Swan Ball in 2019, said "Cheekwood can claim it's theirs, but they never had anything to do with" the event's planning, adding that the group never thought it would have to create a nonprofit to legally separate it from Cheekwood.

"That's Nashville. There's a lot of trust, and there's a lot of belief in the goodness of people, and so no one ever thought for 60 years that there was a need for formalization of what we believed was a legal entity," Davis said.

Cheekwood said that it actively worked with Swan Ball volunteers for nearly two years to "implement procedures to reduce spending over time and increase the proportion of Swan Ball donor funds that go to Cheekwood to a modest 50%," according to the emailed statement provided by Woodhouse on behalf of Cheekwood.

"While Cheekwood believed they were working together, certain Swan Ball volunteers were forming the SB Initiative, Inc., attempting to separate the Swan Ball from Cheekwood. As recently as last week, Cheekwood invited an open dialogue with those behind the SB Initiative. Unfortunately, rather than accepting this invitation and engaging in good faith, those behind the SB Initiative chose to go to court," the statement provided by Woodhouse reads.

In a written statement, Cheekwood's board of trustees said it “will vigorously defend its ownership of the Swan Ball and ensure that it meets nationally recognized benchmarks and best practices for philanthropic fundraising and expense ratios.” In the meantime, it said that it won’t plan next year’s event because of the lawsuit.

“Cheekwood has no choice but to postpone and cease all planning for the 2025 Swan Ball until this matter is resolved,” the statement reads in part.

Davis said the ball will happen in 2025 regardless of whether it will be at Cheekwood or another location.

Adding to the confusion, both Cheekwood and SB Initiative have filed trademark applications for “SWAN BALL.” Cheekwood has for decades held the Tennessee trademark to Swan Ball. The lawsuit, among other things, seeks to establish SB Initiative’s ownership of the trademark.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMe a lins .

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Battle over Swan Ball and its finances erupts into public view with new lawsuit