Many collectors choose what they collect so as to both maximize their philatelic pleasure and, at the same time benefit the charitable and political groups that they are interested in. This kind of collecting and stamp issuance has a long tradition. The first stamps that had a charitable component were issued by Switzerland in 1912. This began an annual series of "Pro Juventute-For the Children" and was the beginning of the thousands of charity stamps that our hobby has produced. The Scott catalog calls these stamps semi-postals. These stamps have postal values of a given amount and then a "charity surcharge" that the buyer pays in addition to the postage that is donated to the designated charity. These stamps are sold to collectors, and the protocols of kindness encourage people in countries that issue these stamps to use semi-postals on mail like wedding invitations and other happy events. Popular semi-postal designees are groups like the International Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and children's charities. Previously, many countries had funded anti-TB efforts through semi-postals.
Other classes of charity stamps that are popular with collectors are health and international cooperation efforts. These stamps do not have a nominal charity component, but they are issued by many countries for a predesigned purpose, with the intention being that collectors will buy stamps from countries that they would normally not be interested in with the proceeds then going to fund the designated activities in that country. The worldwide issues for Malaria eradication in the 1960’s are an example of stamps of these types. Millions of dollars were funneled to needy third world countries by these stamps.
The final way that collectors support causes that they deem worthy through the purchase of postage stamps is related to their choice of countries that they collect. Most countries actively pursue philatelic sales overseas, as stamps sold abroad will never be used for postage and thus represent pure profit over their direct marketing costs. Since most post offices operate at a loss, any money sent to a foreign government that helps balance its postal budget represents a gift to that government’s operating budget because the government needs to fund less for postal purposes. Collectors of Israel and Vatican City, then, are supporters of governments that are meaningful to them while at the same time enjoying their hobby.