Tim Hortons unveiled their Holiday Smile Cookie program for the first time last week, which the company says 100 per cent of its profits will go to over 600 local charities, community groups, and Tim Hortons Foundation Camps. The program ran from Nov. 13 to Nov. 19 and raised $9.8 million nationwide across 4000 stores.
A twist from their classic Smile Cookie, the new Holiday Smile Cookie was a white chocolate sugar cookie with red and green sprinkles baked into it. Each cookie wore a hand-decorated white smile.
However, some Tim Hortons restaurants saw such large support that they ran out of their white chocolate sugar cookies. In order to keep the fundraiser going, these locations needed to switch to the classic Tims chocolate chunk cookies, according to a press release from the company.
The Holiday Smile Cookie program is supporting 400 new organizations in Canada, and restaurant owners will be presenting their charity partners with Holiday Smile Cookie cheques over the coming weeks.
One new recipient is Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank, who has 300 stores supporting them, with 50 per cent of the funds split between the charity and Tim Hortons Foundation Camps.
The Daily Bread Food Bank has been in operation since 1983 and works to meet emergency needs with 207 programs across the city.
One location near TMU that is supporting the Daily Bread Food Bank is located at 595 Bay St. in the Atrium On Bay, which can be found adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square.
Gevan Johnson, manager of the Atrium Tim Hortons, revealed that their location made $465 in Holiday Smile Cookie sales.
The 2023 Daily Bread Food Bank financial annual report, which analyzed revenues and expenses from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, found that 6 per cent of their expenses came from fundraising. This amounted to over $4.1 million.
Near Pitman Hall residence, a Tim Hortons located at 256 Jarvis St. raised a total of $258.84 in support of the Sick Kids Foundation, with 171 units sold.
The Sick Kids Foundation is the largest charitable funder of child health research in Canada. Although a smaller location, the Tim Hortons team was immensely proud to contribute to the foundation.
“It’s heartwarming to see our community come together for such a wonderful cause,” said Dwaine Bartley, the restaurant manager. “We’re committed to making a positive impact, no matter our size.”
The cookies held a 1.57 per cent share of total sales for the store.
Their classic Smile Cookie program has run for over 25 years, and this year Tim Hortons locations raised $19 million in their May program, a record-breaking amount. Those proceeds went to over 600 local charities and community groups.
The program was started in 1996 to help fundraise for the Hamilton Children’s Hospital. Since its inception, the Smile Cookie program has raised over $120 million, including the results of the first national Holiday Smile Cookie campaign.
“It’s evident that the Holiday Smile Cookies have become more than just a seasonal indulgence,” Bartley said, “they’ve become a cornerstone of our success.”
The Tim Hortons Foundation Camps, a large recipient of this campaign, had an annual operating expense of nearly $13.5 million in charitable purposes and approximately $2 million in fundraising from 2021 to 2022.
Initiatives such as their Camp Day, where locations donate their entire days’ sales to the Tim Horton Foundation Camps, help support the foundation’s revenue. Camp Day, for example, made over $11.8 million in revenue, accounting for 53 per cent of their total revenue for the year.
In a press release Axel Schwan, President of Tim Hortons, said the Holiday Smile Cookie campaign was a success that exceeded expectations.
“This was an amazing team effort that will have a big impact right across Canada,” Schwan said. “We can’t thank Canadians enough for their understanding and enthusiastic support.”
Reporter, On The Record, fall 2023
