Co-Founder of Habitat for Humanity Dies

20 ways to make a charitable donation without emptying your wallet

(NEWSER) - Even if the Great Recession has left you without a lot of disposable income, you can still help make the world a better place. The Christian Science Monitor rounds up no- and low-budget ways you can help by donating:

• Business attire: The clothes you're no longer wearing to the office represent "opportunities for life-changing success for people who are reaching hard for that brass ring."
• Recyclables: "Almost every Habitat for Humanity office will accept can and/or bottle donations."

But here's a way to fix it

(NEWSER) - A bunch of billionaires have signed up for Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ “ Giving Pledge ,” promising to give away half or more of their money to charity. Sounds great, right? Not to Ron Rosenbaum of Slate . “I think I can speak for the rest of the world when I say: Dudes, the ‘pledge’ is nice and all, but show us the money if you want the credit,” he writes, declaring the promise a “nebulous never-never-land pledge.” More»

Aide helped engineer Ga. governor's rise to the White House

(NEWSER) - Former White House press secretary Jody Powell, a longtime aide who helped engineer Jimmy Carter's run to the White House, died today after apparently suffering a heart attack at his Maryland home, the Washington Post reports. He was 65. A member of the "Georgia Mafia" that stormed the capital after the 1976 election, Powell leveraged his close relationship with Carter to the benefit of the reporters who relied on him for information. More»

Non-Bush ex-president has already made one

(NEWSER) - Obituaries are a newspaper standby, but the New York Times has removed the journalistic middleman with its series of video obits, Editor & Publisher reports. After starting 2 years ago with humorist Art Buchwald’s greeting of “Hi, I’m Art Buchwald and I just died,” the Times has added 30 more to its “Last Word” stockpile. More»

Microsoft founder touts philan-therapy for world's rich

(NEWSER) - Bill Gates is touting the feel-good benefits of giving away money, telling a crowd in Oslo that “all billionaires should give away the vast majority of their fortunes.” Leave enough for the kids, he says, but, “I’m a great believer that great wealth should go from the richest to the poorest.” Gates has directed much of his Microsoft earnings to charity work, Reuters notes. More»