Dunkin and BARK Add Donation Tiers and a Dog Drive-Thru

BARK and Dunkin announced a new dog-toy collection on August 24, 2026, pairing donation-linked merchandise with a scheduled dog drive-thru experience at one Massachusetts restaurant.

The 2026 program makes the toys thank-you gifts for donations to the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation. The collection introduces three donation levels:

The online destination is bark.co/dunkin, with toys available while supplies last.

For August 26, the partners scheduled a 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern event at 588 Washington St. in Quincy. One drive-thru lane would serve regular guests. The second would host dogs with treats, bandanas and donation-linked toys for that day only.

A recurring fundraiser changes its assortment#

The partners’ August 26, 2025, announcement documents the earlier donation model. That collection offered a Cold Brew toy and a Chocolate Frosted Donut toy, each available as a thank-you for a $16 donation.

Distribution already covered participating Dunkin restaurants and the BARK website, subject to supplies. The current assortment puts a lower donation tier beside that amount and reserves the largest toy for online donors.

In 2025, BARK and Dunkin described the partnership as entering its sixth year after starting in 2020. They reported that it had raised more than $12.5 million for the foundation. That was a cumulative partnership figure covering multiple annual collections.

The earlier release also explained the connection between dog toys and children's hospitals. Dogs for Joy places trained facility dogs in hospitals, where their work includes comforting patients during medical interventions and supporting children through treatment.

At the time, the partners reported 11 facility dogs in training, named by Dunkin franchisees and hospital Child Life Specialists. This gives the pet-themed gifts a specific connection to the charitable program beyond their resemblance to menu items.

In the 2026 announcement, BARK and Dunkin put cumulative fundraising above $15 million and the number of toys sold above one million. Those figures cover the partnership through its seventh year.

Where donations enter the foundation’s work#

The foundation’s December 2025 grantmaking account describes two routes for support. Community Impact Grants fund food pantries and related organizations nominated by Dunkin franchisees, crew members and employees. Hospitals and health centers can apply for Signature Impact Programs.

Those hospital programs include Dogs for Joy, alongside Connecting Joy, Dunkin’ Prom and Joyful Spaces. The beneficiary network therefore extends across both hunger relief and pediatric care, rather than ending with the dogs featured in the promotion.

At that point, the foundation planned to award more than $10 million through over 500 grants before the end of 2025. Those were foundation-wide plans, distinct from the partnership’s cumulative fundraising and from any one collection’s donations.

For franchisees, the nomination route is a concrete connection to the foundation’s work. Local teams can put forward organizations serving their communities, while hospitals have an application route into the signature programs.