WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA
Remember, Honor, Teach
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Nationwide Remembrance Ceremonies
Wreaths Across America coordinates grassroots efforts to organize, sponsor, and participate in simultaneous ceremonies all over the United States and beyond on one day each December. Many ceremonies include placing sponsored veterans' wreaths on the headstones of our nation's servicemembers. Each participating location through the Wreaths ACross America program - currently more than 3,700 -- receives 8 ceremonial veterans' wreaths to use during this program. One representing each branch of the military and a POW/MIA wreath. Volunteers are encouraged to include local veterans and military families in this free, open to ALL event designed to Remember, Honor and Teach.
TEACH Program
The TEACH program, which both shares established curriculum from like-minded organizations, and introduces new educational materials, focuses on character development and service projects for young people of all ages.
The TEACH program serves as a conduit to share the established curriculum materials from partner organizations like The Unites States of America Vietnam War Commemoration, the American Rosie MovementTM, Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and IKEducation at the Eisenhower Foundation. Additionally, WAA has developed a Veterans’ Oral History Project for youth from 4th -12th grades that encourages young people to interview a veteran, service member, or Gold Star Family member to learn about the sacrifices our military make on behalf of our country.
To learn more and download WAA’s TEACH materials, please visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/teach
Local Sponsorship Groups
Wreaths Across America believes in supporting the capacity of local organizations who do good work in their communities, including boy scouts, military organizations, church groups and others. Our local group sponsorship program helps groups earn money based on the numbers of wreaths they are able to sponsor.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of wreaths placed at veteran's gravestones
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth
Related Program
Nationwide Remembrance Ceremonies
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Each year in December wreaths are placed on veteran's gravestones. This is done to remember and honor our fallen heroes. Our goal is to cover as many gravestones as possible as it grows every year.
Number of new cemetery locations each year
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth, Families
Related Program
Nationwide Remembrance Ceremonies
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2015: 1108 total locations - of that 219 were new / 2014: 1000 total locations - of that 160 were new / 2013: 914 total locations - of that 168 were new.
Number of new Sponsorship Groups each year
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Local Sponsorship Groups
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We invite your group or organization to help us remember and honor our American heroes and teach the next generation, through raising funds to sponsor veterans wreaths.
Number of participants reporting greater issue awareness
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The metric shared here is the total number of media articles published in that year about Wreaths Across America's program. This metric include local, state and national media outlets and all mediums.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Wreaths Across America’s yearlong mission is to Remember the fallen, Honor those that serve, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom. The organization’s primary goal is to share the stories of service, sacrifice, success, and courage of our nation’s active-duty military, veterans, Gold and Blue Star Families, and all those who have served. Through the sharing of these stories, all aspects of the mission are fulfilled.
Another goal of the mission to Remember, Honor, and Teach is to raise awareness and funds to support the sponsorship and placement of live, balsam veterans’ wreaths on the headstones of all U.S. servicemembers laid to rest at home and abroad.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Wreaths Across America (WAA) utilizes a network of tens of thousands of dedicated volunteers across the country to share the mission within new communities and bring together people to share stories and learn how they too can participate on the local level.
Through a hyper-local approach to media outreach and connecting with volunteers, WAA has established strong relationships in small towns and communities across the country and worked diligently to provide resources and template materials for volunteers to share the mission locally and help get new people engaged.
In 2019 WAA launched the Mobile Education Exhibit (MEE), a museum on wheels that travels the country sharing the mission, collecting stories of service and success, and supporting the volunteers supporting the program in their local communities. This exhibit is also an official “Welcome Home” unit for our nation’s Vietnam War Veterans. Since hitting the road four years ago, WAA has welcomed home more than 3,000 veterans.
Additionally, through a focused-owned media strategy, WAA has honed it’s owned channels over the last 5+ years. This includes 24/7 internet radio station Wreaths Across America Radio, A Voice for America’s Veterans, which airs veteran-centric shows and content important to military familied, while highlighting the good work of the organization’s volunteers and partners. The monthly subscription-based newsletters and all the organization’s social media channels are curated to share stories focus on the mission and the people around the country making an impact. The reach and engaged communities across all these platforms has consistently grown more than 10% YoY.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Through our network of dedicated volunteers who step forward to coordinate participating locations and raise funds and awareness for the program, we have tapped an incredible resource for the organization’s growth and success.
WAA has developed a team of experienced, passionate staff who work year-round to provide the resources and creative ideas to keep volunteers engaged and enthusiastic from January to December!
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Starting in 2008, Congress regularly declares a Saturday in December as National Wreaths Across America Day. This year, it will be Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023.
Since 2007, Wreaths Across America has grown from 100 participating locations that placed 17,000 veterans’ wreaths to the following in 2022:
-2.7million veterans’ wreaths sponsored and placed
-3,7002 participating location
-More than 6,000 Sponsorship Groups
-More than two million volunteers nationwide, a third of whom are children.
Also, in 2007, WAA established its Group Sponsorship to support like-minded organizations who wanted to support the mission and raise funds for their own initiatives. The Group payback program allows other nonprofits to earn $5 back on every sponsorship received for the locations they support. Through this program, WAA has given back more than $20 million over the last 15 years.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals, To review policies and determine areas for improvement.
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA
Board of directorsas of 03/07/2024
Wayne Hanson
Maine State Society
Term: 2023 - 2024
Michael Edgecomb
Wayne Hanson
Maine State Society, Washington DC
Ron Sailor
Veteran, Former Commander Maine State American Legion
Dan M. Leclair
Veteran, Former Commander, Maine Wing Civil Air Patrol
Patrick Simmons
Veteran, Tyson Foods
Pamela W. Slaven-Lee
Founder family
Sarah Worcester
Founder family
Lorna Harris
Gold Star Mother
Kevin Haley
Portland Maine Police Department
David Russen
Veteran, Location Coordinator
Dan Mead
Veteran, Location Coordinator, Hardrock Charlie Foundation and Irish Charities
Karen Worcester
Executive Director
Randy Lewer
Veteran, Location Coordinator
Nathan Lewis
Tyson Foods
Debbie Ruane Sparks
Executive Director, National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc.
Karen Diefendorf
Retired U.S. Army Chaplain
Michael Edgecomb
Vice-Chair, Veteran
Renee Saunders Worcester
Secretary/Founder Family
Charemon A Davis
CPA/CFO/Director of Finance
Jenny Lovering
Wal-Mart
Graig Morin
Brown Dog Carriers
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data