Italian nonprofit labels describe different things. Association and foundation are legal forms; ODV, APS and other labels identify sections or statuses under the Third Sector system. An organization can therefore be both an association and an APS.
ETS: the broad category
ETS means Third Sector Entity. The status follows registration in RUNTS and compliance with the Third Sector Code. It is not a legal form by itself. The official RUNTS search lets you verify the registered name, tax code and section.
ODV and APS
An ODV is a volunteer organization whose work relies primarily on volunteers and is mainly directed towards third parties. An APS is a social promotion association built around membership and general-interest activities for members, families or the wider community. Both normally have an associative legal form, but their operating rules differ.
Foundations and social enterprises
A foundation is organized around assets dedicated to a purpose rather than a membership base. A social enterprise carries out stable economic activity for civic, solidarity or social aims under specific limits. A social cooperative is treated as a social enterprise by law.
What happened to ONLUS?
ONLUS belongs to the previous tax framework. During the Third Sector transition it may still appear in historical documents or specific records, but it should not be used as a generic synonym for every nonprofit. Check the organization’s current status rather than relying on an old acronym.
Use entity types to compare legal form, RUNTS section and special-list information without mixing them together.
