An inductive investigation of participants’ attachment to charity sports events: the case of team water charity

ABSTRACTResearch question: Charities have begun utilizing sport events as a vehicle for obtaining contributions toward a designated cause and to differentiate themselves in the charity market. Although scholarship has focused on how people attach to a charitable organization, there is a lack of research investigating religiously based international charities. Therefore, this paper examines the attachment of participants in a running event fundraiser for a North American based Christian water charity implementing clean water systems in the developing world.Research methods: Part of a larger ethnography, this study focuses upon semi-structured interviews conducted with charity fundraisers, race participants and charity organizers, before, during, and after the Miami Marathon. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded both individually and communally by the authors.Results and Findings: Three distinct themes emerged: (1) embodied philanthropy; (2) embodied internalization of the cause; and (3) r...