Giving back to their communities has always been a challenge for pro athletes who get rich quick, because they tend to lose the money even more quickly. But even those who manage to build a substantial amount of wealth have a hard time using it charitably in a way that truly has a long-term impact.

Some celebrity athletes are turning to “impact investing,” a growing niche of do-gooder strategies that aim to put money toward charitable causes but that would otherwise lack support. Fund managers, of course, also aim to generate income in the process.

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Counter-intuitively, funds that deliver below-market returns may be the most successful because it indicates they would not otherwise receive funding, said Paul Brest, a professor at Stanford University who teaches courses on impact investing.

“That’s the sweet spot for impact investing, because by definition, ordinary investors are not going to invest in that,” he said.