$98 Million and Counting: The Family Business at the Heart of Wreaths Across America
Nearly $98 million has flowed from the public charity Wreaths Across America to Worcester Wreath Company over the past three years, a figure that raises critical questions about governance and potential conflicts of interest within the nationally recognized organization. While the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery evokes powerful images of remembrance, a deeper look at the charity’s finances, as highlighted by CharityWatch, reveals a highly unusual structure where a family business consistently benefits from charitable donations – a dynamic that demands scrutiny from donors and regulators alike. This isn’t simply a matter of legal compliance; it’s about ensuring maximum impact for an organization built on honoring the nation’s veterans.
Original reporting: wjla.com.
The story begins in 1992 with Morrill Worcester, a Maine wreathmaker who, with permission, placed leftover holiday wreaths on gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery. What started as a personal tribute gained viral momentum in 2005, evolving into the formal establishment of Wreaths Across America in 2007, co-founded by Morrill and his wife, Karen Worcester, who currently serves as the charity’s Executive Director. Crucially, Wreaths Across America has never used a wreath supplier other than the Worcester family’s company, a pattern that, according to Laurie Styron, CEO of CharityWatch, is “highly unusual, especially at this scale.” The sheer volume of funds – $28 million spent on wreaths alone in 2024 – underscores the magnitude of this single-source dependency.
The overlapping governance is where the concerns intensify. Morrill Worcester is both President and Treasurer of Worcester Wreath Company, while Karen Worcester is a director of the same firm. Their son, Morrill “Rob” Worcester II, now co-owns Worcester Wreath alongside his brother, Michael, and also serves as President of Worcester Resources Inc. Even the wives of the sons, Renee Saunders Worcester and Sarah Worcester, hold director positions within both the charity and the private company. This isn’t a case of a few family members peripherally involved; the Worcester family effectively controls both sides of the transaction, creating an inherent conflict when negotiating the price of the 3.1 million wreaths placed annually at over 5,500 locations.
This structure isn’t illegal, but it’s demonstrably problematic. Brian Mittendorf, a Professor at Ohio State University specializing in nonprofit accounting, points to the fundamental question: “What safeguards do they have in place to ensure these transactions are done to benefit the charity, not to benefit those people who happen to own the company?” Wreaths Across America attempted to address these concerns by commissioning an independent request for proposals (RFP) process through Dryden Procurement Technologies in 2022. However, the most recent cycle yielded only one competing bid, with Worcester Wreath Company ultimately securing the contract through 2026. This raises doubts about the effectiveness of the RFP process when the dominant supplier consistently remains the sole viable option.
Adding another layer of complexity, Karen Worcester works 40 hours per week as Executive Director of Wreaths Across America but receives no compensation, a fact flagged by Styron as a “major red flag.” This raises questions about how her time is valued and whether she is receiving financial benefit through her ownership stake in Worcester Wreath Company. The company refuses to disclose internal personnel information or compensation details, citing its status as a private, family-owned business. This lack of transparency prevents a clear assessment of whether the charity is receiving fair market value for the wreaths it purchases, and whether inefficiencies within the for-profit company are indirectly impacting the charitable mission.
Arlington National Cemetery itself willingly accepts the in-kind donation of wreaths, with event attendance ranging from 27,000 to 35,000 volunteers annually. While the cemetery benefits from the tribute, the core issue remains the financial relationship between the charity and its supplier. Experts like Angela Gore of George Washington University suggest a necessary “unwinding” of these relationships, either through the Worcester family relinquishing control of the private company or the charity’s board divesting its financial interest. The current arrangement, she argues, erodes public trust, even if it doesn’t violate legal requirements.
What this means for your wallet: Before donating to Wreaths Across America, consider whether the significant financial ties between the charity and its primary vendor align with your philanthropic goals. Ask yourself: if two-thirds of the budget flows to a company owned by the same family running the charity, how much of your donation is truly reaching the intended beneficiaries – the remembrance of our nation’s veterans? The next RFP cycle in 2026 will be a critical test. Will Wreaths Across America genuinely solicit competitive bids, and will they be willing to select a supplier other than the Worcester family’s company if a more cost-effective option emerges? That outcome will be the clearest signal of whether the organization is prioritizing its mission over familial interests.
