MINNEAPOLIS, MN — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Minneapolis Post Office is reminding customers they can help fund breast cancer research by purchasing the Breast Cancer Research Stamp, a semi-postal stamp issued to help raise funds for breast cancer research. More than 1 billion stamps have been sold since its inception in 1998, raising more than $87.8 million for breast cancer research.

“Our customers have turned the simple act of purchasing postage stamps into a meaningful and effective way to participate in the fight against breast cancer,” said Postmaster Will Jones. “The Postal Service has a proud tradition of issuing stamps to help raise awareness of social issues. The Breast Cancer Research semi-postal stamp takes this wonderful tradition a step further by providing funds for a worthy cause. We encourage everyone to purchase and use the Breast Cancer Research semi-postal stamp on their cards and letters.”

Available year-round, the 65-cent self-adhesive stamps are sold in sheets of 20. Each Breast Cancer Research stamp has a postage value equivalent to the First-Class Mail 1-ounce stamped letter price in effect at the time of purchase.

The amount going to Breast Cancer research is determined by the difference between the First-Class rate in effect at the time of purchase (currently 50-cents) and the 65-cent purchase price, minus a nominal amount to offset costs incurred by the Postal Service.

By law, 70 percent of the net amount raised is given to the National Institutes of Health and 30 percent is given to the Medical Research Program at the Department of Defense.

The Breast Cancer Research Stamp was the first semi-postal stamp in U.S. history. In 1997, Congress authorized it for the specific purpose of raising funds from the American public to assist in finding a cure for breast cancer. In 2015, President Obama signed legislation that extended the sale of the stamp through Dec. 31, 2019.

Designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, the stamp features the phrases, “Fund the Fight” and “Find a Cure” and an illustration of a mythical “goddess of the hunt” by Whitney Sherman of Baltimore.

In addition to the Breast Cancer Research stamp, the Postal Service offers two other fundraising stamps. The Save Vanishing Species semi-postal stamp, first issued in 2011, has raised more than $5.2 million to help protect threatened and vanishing species. In addition, the Alzheimer’s semi-postal stamp was issued in 2017 and has raised more than $524,000 to fund Alzheimer’s research.

All three stamps help raise money for causes in the national public interest and are available for purchase year-round. The Postal Service is promoting each of these stamps through the remainder of the year — starting with the Breast Cancer Research stamp in October, continuing with the Alzheimer’s stamp in November and concluding with Save the Vanishing Species in December. 

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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