Tobacco Business

[ 82 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ JANUARY / FEBRUARY | 22 ] TOBACCONIST THE YEAR BEHIND AND AHEAD OF US Operation: Cigars for Warriors looks back at a year of COVID- 19 , collaborations and politics. 2 2021 was a very interesting year for Operation: Cigars for Warriors (CFW). As you can imagine, 2020 was an extremely rough year for CFW, especially when it came to monetary donations. For those that may not understand, the charity raises an average of 75 percent of its monetary donations yearly from retail shop events, festivals and special fundraisers, such as golf and pool tournaments. Another 20 percent, on average, comes from monetary donations that are mailed in from individual donors, swag purchased off of CFW’s website and companies like Drew Estate that donate an average of $50,000 each year. The last 5 percent comes from social media fundraisers and the Amazon Smile program. A lot of people have been asking who CFW is sending cigars to now that Afghanistan no longer has any official troops deployed there. The fact is that our requests have not dropped off, as many thought would happen. They have actually increased. Our troops went through hell and are still deployed in many places still dealing with COVID-19. According to Newsweek , there are still over 32,000 service members deployed in the Middle East alone. The U.S. also has troops in South Korea, South America, Central America, Bosnia, Kosovo and Africa, among other countries. Let’s also not forget about our brothers as sisters who are posted onboard all of our deployed ships and carriers. For those of you that have kept up on the articles in Tobacco Business about CFW these last couple of years, we have been focused on the business side of things. As an example, we wrote an article on how to make money for your company using CFW and why it works. For the retailers that have not had a chance to read CFW’s editorial in each issue, please go back and read them. Before you say, “That is the wrong reason to participate with the charity,” know that CFW wants your company to come out ahead when dealing with our charity. If you are making a lot more sales because of your connection to CFW, we will get our donations naturally. The reality is, the better your business does, the better CFW does. You should feel very proud when you are sending your monthly donations to CFW! Be proud that you did well for our two companies and that you helped take care of our deployed service men and women.