[tptacek]

Are you gainfully employed? The best answer might be the simplest, both to describe and execute: cultivate your career and use it to generate funds for people who help the underprivileged as a specialty. The market can put your time to better use than you can helping people directly, and plenty of important public assistance groups are starved for cash.

Start donating now. Get into the habit. Ramp up your contributions over time. You'll probably find you give a lot more than you expect you'd be comfortable with.

[patio11]

(Also, consider convincing other people who you've had a career impact on to do the same!)

[pw]

I second this. Look into GiveWell and effective altruism, if you're not familiar with them. Also look up the term "earn to give". There's some truly amazing opportunities to deploy capital in the service of the less fortunate, particularly in places like Sub-Saharan Africa where e.g. $3500 buys enough mosquito nets to result, statistically, in one life saved. $3500!