A year later, the Des Moines Register catches on

 

Top headline:  Maine Monitor

Bottom headline:  Des Moines Register

From the Maine Monitor:

Individuals and groups who participate in Wreaths Across America events each December receive all of their wreaths through the charity. 

Donors pay $17 for each one, with $5 going back to civic and youth groups helping with sales. WAA officials say that arrangement has raised $22 million over the last 15 years for local charities and civic groups beyond wreath laying activities. 

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.

 From the Register:

Talk to those who support annual Wreaths Across America ceremonies at cemeteries across the country and they use words like "moving," "meaningful" and "patriotic."  

[snip] 

Laurie Styron, executive director of CharityWatch, an independent nonprofit that grades the best and worst charities in the U.S., said she believes that the uncomfortably close relationship is inherently problematic because it presents a conflict of interest and a lack of transparency about where funds go. 

Styron, whose organization analyzes and publishes reports on nonprofits, has tried to alert charitable donors and military families before the holiday giving season, suggesting other charities it says do far more to directly benefit veterans and their families than Wreaths Across America. CharityWatch produces its own list of top-rated charities, which includes numerous veterans groups.

One thing that is certainly "moving" is profits into the coffers of Worcester Wreath.