A business news site's entrepreneurship area, for example, might sell forms required of a start-up business and sell them for 50 cents each. While the business person might be able to search the Web and find the same thing for free, if you can make it convenient, time-strapped entrepreneurs probably will fork over small amounts of cash for speed and convenience sake. Contract with a local astrologer to sell personalized readings and star charts. Archives of these live recordings also can be a longer term revenue producer. The ease of purchasing in theory should increase donations.
Political contributions are a bit more dicey.
But check your local laws and make sure to offer your users the ability to make donations to all candidates. Here's a nice little revenue opportunity for news publishers who cover legislatures or local city councils. Provide an alert service for keeping track of legislation as it moves through the law-making process. There may be no such service on the city or county level, so consider providing it. Certain editorial niches may support paid content beyond what's free on a news Web site.