Wreaths Across America Simplifies Non-Profit Operations with BigCommerce
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20%
increase in AOV
251%
increase in conversion
35,000+
manual corrections eliminated annually
Key Highlights:
CHALLENGE.
Due to the thousands of sponsorship groups and locations, the ordering and operational process increased in complexity.
Offline and online processes, manual spreadsheets, and a growing number of sponsorships slowed growth.
Checkout friction and order workflow confusion required constant corrections and support from internal teams.
SOLUTION.
Implemented Catalyst to improve data mapping, system integration, and performance.
Redesigned the entire checkout experience, workflow, and processes to reduce friction.
Enabled real-time visibility for their team and volunteers through integrations and APIs.
RESULTS.
Their team saw a 20% increase in AOV and 251% increase in conversion.
Reduced over 35,000 manual corrections and reconciliation efforts.
Increased efficiency, visibility, and scalability across staff and volunteers.
Advancing a mission through digital connection
Freedom isn’t free — which is why Wreaths Across America exists to honor veterans, support their families, and ensure that no service member is forgotten.
Since 2007, the non-profit has enabled wreath sponsorships across the country, while teaching a new generation the value of freedom.
As the organization grew, so did the scale and complexity of that mission. Thousands of local groups, volunteers, and supporters relied on the website not just to place orders, but to participate in something deeply meaningful.
With BigCommerce and Catalyst, Wreaths Across America has created a more connected, accessible digital experience — one that brings supporters closer to the mission while making it easier for teams and volunteers to carry it forward.
CHALLENGE
Managing complexity across thousands of groups and locations.
Wreaths Across America operates at a scale unlike traditional ecommerce organizations. Every order carries layers of meaning and complexity that must be accurately tracked and fulfilled.
Behind the scenes, each transaction is not just a purchase. It must be mapped to the correct group, location, and purpose, ensuring every sponsor and volunteer receives proper recognition. As the organization grew, this level of detail placed increasing strain on their systems and processes.
“The finance team manages over 7,000 sponsorship groups and over 6,000 locations, both active and inactive. We have to categorize everything that comes through our system, so being able to have things done digitally takes some of the pressure off of what we do,” explained Charemon Davis, Chief Financial Officer and Co-Director of Information Systems at Wreaths Across America.
At the same time, much of the organization’s activity remained offline. Tens of thousands of sponsorships arrived by mail, often in short seasonal windows, creating operational bottlenecks and manual workloads that were difficult to scale. Even payment methods took on more manual forms.
“Just to put it in perspective, we brought in about 65,000 checks last year and about 50,000 of those came in the last eight weeks,” Davis shared.
Their existing ecommerce experience also struggled to support the complexity of their mission. Orders required extensive manual corrections, reconciliation, and customer support follow-ups, especially when sponsors needed to adjust details after checkout.
The result was a system that worked, but required significant effort from staff and volunteers alike.
“The finance team manages over 7,000 sponsorship groups and over 6,000 locations, both active and inactive. We have to categorize everything that comes through our system, so being able to have things done digitally takes some of the pressure off of what we do.”
CHAREMON DAVIS, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND CO-DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS, WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA
SOLUTION
Simplifying operations with Catalyst and smarter data mapping.
To support its growing mission, Wreaths Across America needed a storefront that could handle complexity without adding friction.
By implementing Catalyst through BigCommerce, the team created a more flexible, connected experience that better aligns with how their organization operates.
Catalyst enabled deeper integration between the front-end experience and their internal systems, making it easier to capture, map, and process highly detailed order data in real time.
“Switching over to Catalyst was a huge game changer for our programmer. We were able to do more mapping, systems could communicate more effectively, and it made everything run more smoothly within Charemon’s finance system,” said Logan Staples, Director of Customer Operations and Co-Director of Information Systems at Wreaths Across America.
With improved data flow and page-level tracking, the team can now more accurately connect each order to the correct sponsorship group and location, reducing errors and manual intervention.
“Using the page ID, we were able to bring that transition into our system much faster and with fewer errors,” said Davis.
Creating a more flexible and intuitive checkout experience.
Beyond backend improvements, Catalyst allowed Wreaths Across America to rethink the checkout experience to better match how supporters engage with their mission.
Previously, a multi-step purchasing journey stood in the way: sponsors were required to complete all customization steps before checkout, leading to abandoned carts and additional support requests.
“If you had 10 sponsorships going to different locations, you had to complete all of that before checking out. Being able to do each one as a separate order was huge for us, because supporters could submit their sponsorship first and go back later to add the rest of the information,” Davis admits.
With a redesigned experience, users can now complete their sponsorship first and return later to add personal touches, adding flexibility and streamlining the process from start to finish.
It also helped unlock additional engagement, including increased add-on donations and new initiatives like the “Remember Me Wreath,” making it easier for supporters to contribute beyond their initial purchase.
Empowering teams and volunteers with better visibility and control.
With Catalyst and BigCommerce’s open architecture, Wreaths Across America improved visibility across its entire ecosystem, benefiting not just internal teams, but thousands of volunteers.
The platform now provides clearer insight into orders, cart activity, and sponsorship performance, reducing the need for manual support and enabling self-service access to critical information.
“Now, we can save a cart and send it for later. We can look at cart histories and even see orders that haven’t been completed yet in our system, and we get a lot more analytical information out of it,” said Staples.
By combining a modern storefront with deeper system integration, Wreaths Across America has built a digital foundation that supports both its mission and the people who bring it to life.
“Switching over to Catalyst was a huge game changer for our programmer. We were able to do more mapping, systems could communicate more effectively, and it made everything run more smoothly within Charemon’s finance system.”
LOGAN STAPLES, DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER OPERATIONS AND CO-DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS, WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA
“Now, we can save a cart and send it for later. We can look at cart histories and even see orders that haven’t been completed yet in our system, and we get a lot more analytical information out of it.”
LOGAN STAPLES, DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER OPERATIONS AND CO-DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS, WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA
RESULTS
Driving efficiency, accuracy, and measurable growth.
With BigCommerce and Catalyst, Wreaths Across America reduced operational complexity while improving the experience for supporters, staff, and volunteers nationwide. The organization now operates on a digital foundation that supports growth while maintaining accuracy and trust.
Key results included:
35,000+ manual corrections eliminated annually through improved data mapping and reconciliation
A 20% increase in average order value and 251% increase in conversion
Greater visibility for volunteers to independently track sponsorships and order activity
Reduced reliance on spreadsheets and manual workflows to manage millions of data points nationwide
As Davis shared, “Reducing our reliance on manual processes has really helped. Not managing from spreadsheets has been huge for our productivity.”
With faster processes, fewer errors, and improved visibility across systems, the team is better equipped to scale its mission while ensuring every sponsorship is accurately tracked and honored.
“Reducing our reliance on manual processes has really helped. Not managing from spreadsheets has been huge for our productivity.”
CHAREMON DAVIS, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND CO-DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS, WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA
LOOKING AHEAD
Scaling digital engagement with a future-ready platform.
With a stronger digital foundation in place, Wreaths Across America is focused on deepening supporter connections and expanding online engagement, meeting supporters where they are rather than relying on traditional, hands-on processes.
The flexibility of Catalyst’s composable, API-driven architecture allows the team to continue enhancing its storefront, integrations, and user experience without legacy constraints, while supporting future growth across thousands of sponsorship groups nationwide.
"Catalyst is something that doesn't have a limit, so we can just keep growing. It'll be right there to grow with us," remarked Staples.
“Catalyst is something that doesn't have a limit, so we can just keep growing. It'll be right there to grow with us.”
LOGAN STAPLES, DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER OPERATIONS AND CO-DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS, WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA
Published: June 2026
