Developer Gives $100M to Habitat For Humanity

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."

Fun intended to hush critics who call film 'poverty porn'

(NEWSER) - To combat accusations that Oscar sensation Slumdog Millionaire is a form of “poverty porn,” the filmmakers have donated about $740,000 toward a health education initiative in Mumbai’s slums, the Times of London reports. The funds are in addition to trusts set up for the movie’s child actors. “Some but not all” who gained from Slumdog’s $90 million profit contributed, the producer says. More»

(NEWSER) - Forget for a second the Arab oil money that buoys the Clinton Foundation, Marty Peretz writes in the Wall Street Journal—“since when is the Clinton Foundation one of the approved charities of the United Way?” Nonprofits and foundations, from hospitals to universities to opera companies, are lining the former president's coffers, and Peretz can’t figure out why, or where the money goes—other than Bill Clinton's ego. “This information is not in the report.” More»

Donations off as much as 30%, some say

(NEWSER) - Across the country, charities that dole out gifts to underprivileged kids have seen donations fall off steeply compared to last holiday season, USA Today reports. Some are reporting as much as a 30% decline in giving as the economy flags. “Families that would normally have been helping us by donating are now turning to us for help,” a spokeswoman for one charity said. More»

AOL founder Steve Case hopes web will democratize philanthropy

(NEWSER) - AOL founder Steve Case’s foundation is launching a major online charity drive today, aimed at using social networks and encouraging small-scale donors to join the ranks of millionaires. The drive consists of a new app, “causes” on Facebook, and a spread in this Sunday’s Parade Magazine. Facebook has 50 million users and Parade has 70 million readers. More»