Association without lucrative purpose

The non-profit- making entity ( NPI ) ( Dutch: Vereniging zonder winstoogmerk ( vzw ), French Association sans but lucratif ( asbl ) ) is a legal form of the Ideal Society in Belgium, which is classified by international standards as a non- profit organization ( NPO ).

In its basic form it was introduced by a law on 27 June 1921 in Belgium. By the year 2002 the name was non-profit organization ( GoE ). Then a statutory change on 2 May 2002 and Royal Decree of 26 June 2003 regulated more details. It was created on total of more transparency and a modified form of accounting.

East Belgium

A well-known non-profit organization in the German East-Belgium is the magnifying glass for-profit organization, a non-denominational and politically unbound Center for Adult Education in Eupen.

IVoG

As Belgium and especially Brussels is the headquarters of many international organizations, this legal form has a special status for international non-profit organizations. Since the law reform the Belgian law does in addition to the internal Belgian non-profit association also an "International Association non-profit " ( officially abbreviated IVoG, ndl. IVZW or French AISBL ).

An example of a IVoG is EUR pace ivzw, an organization based in Leuven, dedicated to the promotion of e-learning in Europe.

Other countries

In Luxembourg, a legal form that there but non-profit association called, but is also abbreviated as NPIs exist. However, here the restriction that instead of the abbreviation for-profit organization in general, the French abbreviation asbl is used because, unlike in Belgium Luxembourg legal texts will generally be published only in French.

Also this legal form exists in the former colony of the Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Furthermore, there is a resolution of the European Parliament from 2001, which includes the requirement for a European non-profit association.

Other association types in Belgium

In addition to the non-profit organization that is classified as a legal entity, exists in Belgium beyond the unincorporated factual Association ( vereniging Ndl feitelijke, French association de fait, Eng. De facto association), a club -like association of natural or legal persons with common goals. The factual association does not constitute a legal entity and thus, among other things, each member of the association's debts is unlimited liability.