Here’s an interesting post about this curious phenomenon of “pinkwashing” – the commercial pink products that are espoused to promote awareness of breast cancer and donate a portion of the proceeds to research. The question is, who does that help more – the fight against cancer, or the company’s pockets?

I am a little bit twitchy when it comes to donating money to support causes. My husband and I certainly agree that many causes are worth supporting, and we alot money every year towards those things. But we choose those causes because they are important to us. I feel like it’s such a personal thing. Even working for a non-profit there’s a reason I work on the paperwork and not public relations: it makes me feel so weird to ask for donations, even though I obviously think it’s a worthy cause.

But one thing I have learned from working in the non-profit world is that you really do have to understand where your money is going, as not all organizations actually use the money for what you think they do – and not all companies donate what they imply to the causes they are promoting. A for-profit company is almost always about their profits, bottom line; they’re promoting a non-profit cause to make them look good, to attract attention, and invariably to increase sales. This summer I had someone knock on my door to talk to me about a non-profit organization whose goal is to support clean water. It sounded like a good cause, but I didn’t write a check right there (and I got rather irritated at the expectation that I would!). I thanked them for the info, then came inside and looked up the organization. I read their website, I checked their 501(c)3 non-profit status, and then I did write a $5 check and send it. I realize not many people actually want to or have the time to do that with everything – maybe it’s just easier to donate to whatever cause a coworker is currently supporting. But I personally want to know more than that. And if the cause is important enough to me I’ll do more than give money – I’ll attend events, I’ll volunteer, I’ll talk to others about it to raise awareness.

I do think that breast cancer is a major issue and I’m so very glad that people are gaining awareness and compassion. But if I really want to support research I would rather write a check to research than buy a cute pink coffee mug.