Wreaths Across America a scam?
Wreaths Across America is a charity we’ve talked about many times in the past. From a cursory search, here, here, here, and here to name a few. Their mission is to put up wreaths around the holidays at national cemeteries. As a visitor to one nearby, it sure does brighten the place up, and it’s a mission I can get behind.
Sometimes though, I’m reminded of just how much I love America. It seems the people behind the program owned a wreath farm, and the non-profit buys exclusively from said farm. Brilliant! I gotta get me one of these charities.
Now does this seem like a scam? On its face, absolutely. Is it? I don’t know. It could be this is all on the up and up, that they’re the cheapest wreath supplier, and there’s nothing untoward going on. It sure seems funny though. Funny in a “I got lots of foreign business I’m not qualified for because my last name’s Biden” sort of way.
Military Times has the report;
When trucks from Wreaths Across America roll into Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, they’ll bring with them the largest army of volunteers and the most substantial supply of holiday wreaths in the charity’s 15 years of operation.
They’re also poised to write their biggest check ever to their sole wreath supplier, a Maine company owned by the founders of the charity whose main source of income is donations to the non-profit.
Wreaths Across America and the Worcester Wreath Company are open about the relationship, advertising for each other on their websites. Both have filed appropriate disclosures and tax forms and have received no pushback from the Internal Revenue Service or state tax officials.
But as the operation has grown from a regional volunteer effort to a nationwide campaign bringing in more than $30 million annually — more than double its 2017 total — so have questions about whether the close ties between the non-profit group and for-profit company undercut the charitable message of the effort.
“You often see a small charity where some of the insiders still work for a related company or the founders and get paid,” said Brian Mittendorf, the H.P. Wolfe chair in accounting at Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business. “The unusual part here is the scale. That an organization of this size would still have such a large portion of its budget in the form of transactions with related persons raises questions.”
The idea for Wreaths Across America grew from a decision by Worcester Wreath owner Morrill Worcester in the 1990s to donate extra holiday wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery. As the tradition attracted more attention, the company split off the work into a charitable arm, still maintaining ties with its founders.
Over the years, major donors such as American Airlines, Chevrolet and Jersey Mike’s Subs have handed over hundreds of thousands of dollars. In contrast to the early years of the operation, today the two entities have flipped roles, with the charity drawing national headlines and the private wreath firm relying mostly on the organization for revenue.
“If it is the case that the for-profit vendor would collapse or need to significantly downsize were it to lose the business of the charity, it is a glaring conflict of interest to have owners of that vendor on the charity’s board or in key staff positions,” said Laurie Styron, CEO and executive director of CharityWatch, an independent charity watchdog group.
“The owners and their close relatives should either sell off their financial interests in the for-profit vendor, or the interested parties should resign from the charity and allow an independent board to recruit leaders in whom the public can have confidence in their capacity to act independently.”
…
In fiscal 2021, the charity sent nearly $21.5 million to Worcester Wreath. Company officials have said publicly that the Wreaths Across America contract makes up more than 75% of their annual revenue.
Much more at the source.
Category: Arlington National Cemetary
Yeah, 75% of the business! Sounds like the charity needs to look at other suppliers as well, instead of just one.
I have thought of many a business model where the Not-for Profit is much larger than the for profit, but usually it is just to sell stuff at the events not be the event.
Oh noes!
An illegal, pseudo-corporation that has the power to lock you up based on a whim (see: the I,aRe,aSs) is cool with this charity’s 990s?
I guess I’ll chalk this up to a not-roversy.
Charity has a better impact when one can see the donation spent, i.e. support your local wreath place and fuck the Big ‘Charity’ Industrial Complex.
A family member got involved in charitable fundraising at the national level.
Pro collection services typically rake 90% off the top.
Yes. 90% typically goes to the fundraisers. The remainder to the charity. So your “X dollars a month” winds up $0.X, before the charity starts paying its salaries and bills.
Charity is best done personally. Be it tithing a church or handing out sawbucks to hobos, see the recipient accept the cash and you are unlikely to be enriching some pirate middleman.
Sad but true.
Our family tradition is always been to give time but not money. If my time isn’t of value I don’t know what we’re doing.
Good way to put it.
Check out the documentary Telemarketers. It was on HBO a while back. It heavily goes after the law enforcement charities, but demonstrates how awful the professional fundraising model is.
I generally have very cordial conversations with these charities when they call. My wife doesn’t think I am very polite however. My favorite was when a Viet of the Nam fundraiser accused me of not caring about Vietnam vets.
Like all charitable orginizations, the liberals get a hold of it and
turn it into a Democrat fund raising scam.
Sad to see this one follow the same path.
Look for more in 2024 because Trump.
But, but, but, look how much good a certain Foundation did for a hurricane ravaged island. The Foundation certainly had the initiative to help others without enriching their leaders. If you would just watch a little TeeVee you too could contribute just $19.00 a month…you may even get a nice blanket out of the deal.
Like 11B- pointed out, I do my “charitable work” on a very local, anonymous level. I know where it goes. Full Disclosure. I do purchase, thru the UDC, 4 Wreaths purchased in Honor of family members that served in WWI & WWII. I have helped in the placing of Wreaths in the past. We try to find the out of the way Burial Grounds that are not kept up by anyone.
Well just look at all of the money raised for earthquake relief in Haiti, all of which had to go through The Clinton Foundation which netted BILLIONS, and a few homes were rebuilt, bless the Clintons’ hearts sideways.
Not too bad for a charity.
Program Expense Ratio -85.69%
The rest spent on overhead and fundraising.
https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/208362270
I say leave them alone to continue doing what they do. It’s a beautiful thing. I have been volunteering at this event for the past four years in my area and every veteran buried in that cemetery gets a wreath on their grave to honor them. This is not Pedo Joe and Crack-Head Hunter conniving people behind the scenes to the point where the Biden Crime Family reaps dividends. The ultimate benefactors IMHO are the deceased veterans who are given the respect and honor that they deserve.
Not a defense, but a perspective.
The family business does appear to be almost wholly supported by the charity. And but.
It was a small, family, generational business that couldn’t compete with the prices of large corporations and would have gone under. Can’t beat’em, join’em? Kinda.
At least there is direct, measurable good and good will generated by their profits, as opposed to that of the giant corporations that were putting them out of business. The Big Boys aren’t running a patriotic, “All-American” radio show and podcast, putting out educational materials and programs for schools and kids on volunteering; teaching generations about caring for and venerating previous generations’ sacrifices represented by all those headstones; creating opportunities for communities to come together, not just one Saturday in December, but for months for a community initiative, etc., etc.
OTOH – Should WAA “spread the wealth” and get wreaths from other small, family-owned tree farmers? Absolutely. They could still have the symbolic trucks running across the country in early December, but locally source a portion/the majority of the wreaths lain in, say Michigan or Wisconsin or Oregon? Additionally, volunteers at schools, VSO’s, veterans’ homes and hospitals could be allowed, for a set number of “free” wreaths, to place the iconic red ribbon and message.
I simply can’t be too mad at a family-owned business that figured out a way not to just stay afloat and make money, but have a huge impact on the morale of veterans, families, and entire communities while reminding the Nation of the meaning of those rows of matching headstones.
Not sure at less than $20 a wreath they would GET any competing bids. Just in a grocery store this AM and even the little cheapie bouquets were $13.
Great job by Mason giving a much fairer perspective than the original Military Times article.
I understand the point of view in this article, and I’m still inclined to find no real issue with this idea.
They aren’t hiding the relationship, no one is forced at gunpoint with the threat of being imprisoned (like we are with taxes) to contribute…if people still want to toss them some money to brighten up a cemetery at Christmas I have no issue with that, we can all choose to use our disposable income in whatever fashion we choose.
Were they trying to hide their relationship with each other I would be more inclined to believe something truly nefarious was happening, with the transparency so obvious it’s harder to see any malicious intent here.
I don’t know, but I wrote the orders for the 2019-2021 WAA mission in ANC. From what I recall, we always had a different take on this task, as opposed to official missions like the National Memorial Day Observance or National Veterans Day Observance (NMDO/NVDO), or even the opening of the National Museum of the United States Army (NMUSA).
My team in J/G33 played a pivotal role in planning, coordinating, and largely taking the lead, but given the charitable nature of WAA, we had a lot less insight. For example, NVDO/NMDO saw us planning stuff out for months, while the NMUSA saw us meeting with the Army Historical Foundation (AHF) and various other private and Army entities, such as TRADOC and HQDA G3. WAA always saw us with minimal coordination at the JFHQ; mostly just compiling the stuff we got from the charity and various shops to delegate to our subordinates.
So, worthless post, outside of my team’s involvement in WAA. No idea of how good or bad the charity and/or company behind it is.
Well, if this charity is a fraud because of this, all charities supported by all businesses are frauds.
Frankly, sole supplier from the charity founder’s family business is the least scammy thing I’ve heard of in years.
I’m looking at YOU United Way…
Look, they (Worcester Wreath Company) operate in a very economically depressed area. They pay very very low wages for seasonal work. Tippers and wreath makers make below minimum wage and there are no bonuses. But people have to work and there aren’t many opportunities for off season income in Harrington Maine. And sure.. they get the volunteers to put the wreaths up (never minding that evergreen wreaths are considered christian symbolism and perhaps some families may not like a wreath on their vetrans grave?) anyway.. volunteers put the wreaths up, but who takes them down? They close Arlington Cemetery for 2 days in order to dispose of the wreaths in a landfill. The Worcester family now wants to build a ‘Flagpole of Freedom Park’ in Maine and the idea is that it would have the world’s largest flagpole. Kind of a veterans memorial theme park in an area of Maine that does not want it. There is a lot of controversy surrounding it. I am an army brat. My father and grandfathers and great-grandfathers and uncles and brothers all served. I think the Worcester family is total BS.