Onlus and NGOs brought together under the definition of third sector entities. Around 300,000 associations deal with issues of general interest: from health to cooperation, a very broad world.
Once upon a time there were non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and non-profit organisations of social utility (onlus): they still exist today, but we may as well call them all third sector entities (Ets). The new Third Sector Code — also known as the "decreto Bobba" after the name of the Deputy Minister of Labour who oversaw it — has now been in force for two months, and reorganises and redefines the vast Italian landscape of non-profit voluntary organisations. The code forms part of the broader reform of the third sector, which had its first official passage last June, although it is set to be completed only by next year, when the last of the 42 required acts — covering governmental and ministerial delegations and European authorisations — will be signed. What is certain at this stage is that the organisations concerned, which will be recorded and networked through the establishment of a register, number around 300,000, employing approximately one million workers and generating 4.3 per cent of Italy's gross domestic product (GDP).
First of all, a clear definition: according to the new code, third sector entities are
"voluntary organisations, social promotion associations, philanthropic bodies, social enterprises, including social cooperatives, associative networks, mutual aid societies, foundations and other private entities other than companies established for the pursuit, on a non-profit basis, of civic, solidarity-based and socially useful purposes through the carrying out of one or more activities of general interest in the form of voluntary action or the free provision of money, goods or services, or of mutual aid or the production or exchange of goods or services."
A fairly broad definition, which nevertheless allows one to proceed by exclusion: banking foundations (despite being separate from the banks from which they originate and being onlus in any case), public administrations, political associations and trade unions will not be part of the third sector register and are therefore not subject to the code. The situation is different for civilly recognised religious bodies, for which the provisions of the code apply only in so far as they carry out activities of social utility.
The definition of "general interest" is deliberately broad: it encompasses activities in the fields of social and healthcare assistance, art and culture, research and education, the environment and animals, sport and leisure, the protection of civil rights, and of course international cooperation, as in the case of major Italian NGOs such as Save The Children and Amnesty International, which also operate abroad. The register will include associations of various kinds — from the largest and best-known to the smallest and most local: from voluntary organisations in the strict sense, such as Avis, which handles blood collection and donation, or Anpas, which manages the voluntary ambulance service, through to so-called social promotion associations, which serve not only third parties but also their own members; among the best known of these are Acli, Arci, Legambiente (which in turn also fall within the category of associative networks, since they are made up of hundreds of local associations).
Philanthropic bodies are a new category introduced by the code: they consist for the most part of corporate foundations, that is, non-profit entities created by private companies (the Vodafone Foundation, like many others), whose remit is limited to the distribution of funds. Social enterprises are companies proper — joint-stock companies or limited liability companies — and include in particular social cooperatives, which manage socio-health and educational services, or activities of various kinds aimed at helping disadvantaged people, such as asylum-seeking migrants in recent months, enter the labour market: among the largest in Italy are the Gino Mattarelli consortium and the InRete consortium.
Mutual aid societies, meanwhile, as Massimo Novarino, head of the Study Centre of the Forum Terzo Settore, explains, "were born at the end of the nineteenth century but are rediscovering a new lease of life because, as state social service systems shrink, they step in with social, pension and health insurance. A major example is Cesare Pozzo, which was set up to provide supplementary health cover for cured-meat workers and is today the largest in Italy." Finally, the code also provides an opportunity for Catholic religious bodies, such as Caritas or the Community of Sant'Egidio, or of any denomination that has entered into an agreement with the state, that have an associative character and carry out activities of general interest. "On condition that in this case too," Novarino cautions, "these bodies maintain separate accounts and a precise definition of their activities and the number of volunteers."
With the reform, all these associations will be able to draw on the Ministry of Labour's 20-million-euro fund, as well as, from 2018, the 223 million euros allocated by the Ministry of Economic Development. In addition, tax deductions for donations to entities will increase, and the recovery of unused public property will be facilitated, with more favourable tax arrangements in place.
All benefits that each entity will be able to access only if registered in the third sector register and if it commits to complying with a series of obligations regarding internal democracy, transparency in accounts — which must be published annually in the register — employment relationships and salaries, which may not be more than 40 per cent below national contracts, insurance for volunteers, and the allocation of any surpluses. All elements of accountability and transparency that are also useful to any citizen wishing to decide whom to direct a donation to.
