Through my friendship with John, I’ve come to pay more attention to words. I pay more attention to what the words actually mean. This is especially true in marketing and fundraising. When a server at Old Chicago offers me a slice of Homemade Cheesecake, I’d really love to know whose home it’s made in. When Safeway checkers ask me if I’d like to donate to Prostate Cancer, I decline knowing that Prostate Cancer is killing plenty of people without my $5. And when a box promises me that “Anything is Possible with Popcorn“, I imagine the possibilities.

Yesterday Starbucks sent an email telling me that I could “help make a difference” on World AIDS Day and that I should “see how delicious doing good can be” with one of their holiday drinks. Awesome, right? Who wouldn’t want to help with that? Besides Fred Phelps, I mean.

The difference I could make? A nickel’s worth.

For every handcrafted beverage purchased, Starbucks will donate 5¢. These drinks cost somewhere around $3.25 each. The profit is somewhere around $2.50. Of the four million drinks sold daily, a conservative estimate is that 90% of these are considered handcrafted. This means Starbucks will donate around $180,000 today that they would otherwise put in their pocket. Kudos for that. But I can’t help but think that this email has less to do with the 2% donated to AIDS research and more to do with the 98% going to Starbucks shareholders.

I’m not anti-profit or anti-capitalism. I’m all for people making a living. But when you market and profit on a disease, maybe you’re not making a living. Maybe you’re making a killing.

If you’d like to contribute to the work going on with out buying anything, visit the designated giving page for RED. See how good doing good can be.