“Love your neighbor as yourself” is a tenet we have held dear throughout our lives. When Dottie was young, her family hosted an international exchange student at their home in Madison, Wisconsin. We continued this tradition together for more than 50 years by hosting international students studying at Stanford University. Opening our home to these students from around the world brought us unimaginable joy, learning, and opportunities. We came to understand that our “neighbors” go far beyond those who live in our town—they include the estimated 700 million people who are living in extreme poverty.

Our shared family Christian values have always guided our outlook on the world, and also our approach to philanthropy. We believe philanthropy is a privilege and a responsibility and, having been blessed with exceptional good fortune, we are on a constant search for how to be good stewards of these resources and apply them to achieve the most impact.

Our first step in our quest to change lives and create opportunities for those who need it most was to identify high-impact issues and areas for philanthropic investment in Africa and Asia (where most of those in extreme poverty reside). We formalized our commitment to this endeavor in 2016 by establishing King Philanthropies with a very intentional mission: to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the world’s poorest by multiplying the impact of high-performing leaders and organizations. Working closely with the team at King Philanthropies, we have pursued this mission through three pillars. The King Essentials initiative addresses fundamental human needs of those in extreme poverty by funding high performing leaders and organizations with proven interventions. Bob talks about his new math – one plus one equals three. By working in collaboration, these organizations make even greater impact. Our Global Scholars Program develops future leaders by engaging the next generation of students who grew up in extreme poverty circumstances. Finally, our giving at Stanford has created the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (Stanford Seed), which scales businesses and creates jobs in Africa and Asia, and the Stanford King Center on Global Development, which joins faculty and students from across the university to improve quality of life in the developing world.

We are encouraged and inspired by the progress made, but the scale of the need is immense. We know we cannot achieve our goals for impact entirely on our own. We are delighted to sign the Giving Pledge to underscore our passion for this work; in doing so, we hope others will join us.