ABSTRACT
The professional sport industry in North America has increasingly focused on social responsibility over the past ten years, and sport philanthropy has emerged as a key element of these activities (Babiak and Wolfe, 2009; Sheth and Babiak, 2010; Sports Philanthropy Project, 2007). Athletes are an important resource that professional sport businesses (teams, leagues, governing bodies) utilize to both make a significant impact on social issues and to garner positive associations for their organization (Babiak et al., 2012; Tainksy and Babiak, 2011). In addition to the charitable work athletes perform for their teams via community outreach and team philanthropy, athletes frequently also engage in their own personal philanthropic endeavors. Athlete philanthropy might take the form of direct support of a cause or established organization, such as the American Diabetes Association or a local hospital; or the establishment of a personal charitable organization, such as a public or private foundation or donor advised fund. Much of the research in the area of sports philanthropy, including team and league charitable foundations, community outreach, or cause-related marketing efforts has been at the organizational level (i.e., professional sport teams and leagues or governing bodies) (Babiak and Wolfe, 2006, 2009; Brietbarth and Harris, 2008; Sheth and Babiak, 2010; Walker and Kent, 2009). Little academic attention has been paid to the professional athletes themselves as philanthropists and social entrepreneurs. The purpose of this chapter is to examine charity in the sport industry, specifically related to charitable foundations established by professional athletes. We discuss how social entrepreneurship in sport plays a role in formalizing philanthropy through the establishment and management of charitable organizations. Dees (1998: 4) defined a social entrepreneur as someone who:
adopts a mission to create and sustain social value, recognizes and relentlessly pursues new opportunities to serve that mission, engages in a process of continuous innovation,
adaptation, and learning, acts boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand and exhibits heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created.
