This article explores the stakes of lay people’s participation in the financing of Jesuit colleges in the 16th and 17th centuries between Europe, East and West Indies. In the continuity of noble investment in religious institutions, conceived in the Middle Ages as a form of caritas, the commitment of the laity in early modern times refers at the same time to the “duty of the state”, to soteriological issues and to the defence of the faith and its propagation, especially in missionary contexts. For lay people, participating in the founding of a Jesuit college implies the exercise of rights, real or honorific, which could butt up against the will of the Jesuits to limit their prerogatives. Salvation, hoped for in the afterlife, is understood as a return on investment, and charity remains included in an economy of grace.