I saw a pamphlet for a non-profit organization called Agros the other day on my kitchen table. I paged through it and was quickly riveted by the unique plan they had thought up to bring change and development to developing countries. In fact, it’s one of the more interesting and practical charities I’ve ever heard of.

With Agros, a group of investors from an affluent area like ours can help a community in Latin America by loaning them money to purchase land. Then, Agros trains the families in sustainable farming techniques and animal husbandry. Its focus is to make the communities self-sufficient, to the point where they can pay back Agros’ loans over time.

This is exceedingly visionary, because instead of dumping money on disenfranchised peoples, they are being taught both valuable skills and smart financial management. It’s essentially a way to impart wisdom and aid that’s long-lasting. It creates a legacy of security and change in places with a deficit of both.

The Seattle-based Agros and an increasing number of other organizations are operating through this “microfinance” principle. Affluent nations are blessed with the ability and capacity to share, and as our prosperity soars, we must do so.

One of the best examples is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It is putting $306 million into grants for impoverished farmers in Africa and South Asia, as a leading example to the World Economic Forum. Benevolent investors demonstrating generosity is perhaps the best thing for the world’s future; investing magnate Warren Buffett recently donated about $30 billion to the Gates Foundation, which will cement its longevity and influence.

Seattle is home to other smart-thinking organizations. Global Partnerships facilitates money from private investors and transfers it to microfinance institutions, which works with citizens of poor nations in small communities to offer a host of financial products from insurance to loans, and gets people on their own two feet slowly but surely.

Other organizations making a difference in poor nations don’t always start with microfinancing. Christian charities like Compassion International and World Vision pair sponsors with individual children. The money donated goes to help the child with food, clothing, and education. It’s an incredibly focused approach, where other organizations try for the big picture. But if you can help the individuals in a society become loving and literate, eventually their values will spread and cause massive change.

What does all this mean for us? We are “poor” college students. We struggle to find cash for cups of noodles, cheap beer and gas. We can be idiots with our credit cards; I know a lot of people who suffer from lingering consumer debt, including myself. But I’ll temporarily attach myself to causes and persuasions in front of the HUB if it means getting a bagel, a vegan doughnut or a cup of hot cider on my way to or from class.

I’m sorry if I didn’t seem sincere, or really read the pamphlet you thrust into my hand. I was hungry and you fed me, and that’s what’s important.

It actually is what is important for us. By the rest of the world’s standards, “poor” American college students are wealthy. So why not begin giving now? People who are discerningly generous with their money are better managers of it. Do some research. Look at charitynavigator.com, which compiles statistics on thousands of charity organizations. Find out who is accountable and has a unique vision that fits your convictions.

There’s no reason to just let your spending get out of control. Could you go without an extra latté or two a month? Follow the example of organizations in our own city, and use your money, even a small part of it, to bless somebody in the world.

You’ll feel better, and you’ll be an instrument of change.

[Reach columnist Jackson Rohrbaugh at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.]