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Charities in Italy

GiveRadar tracks 148,192 Italian third-sector organizations from RUNTS, the national register kept by the Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali. A public office checks each statute against the Codice del Terzo Settore and can refuse registration, though an application undecided after 60 days is registered anyway. An ETS is broader than a charity: the register also holds sports clubs, mutual societies and social enterprises.

149,139
Third-sector organizations
100%
Registration number on file
Social Services
Largest cause area
1 per 395
Residents per organization
Matt Timmermans Reviewed by Matt Timmermans Founder of GiveRadar · Checked August 18, 2026
Where this data comes from  ·  How current it is
The directory

All charities in Italy

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The register at a glance

How many charities does GiveRadar track in Italy?

GiveRadar tracks 148,192 Italian third-sector organizations, of which 148,184 (100%) carry a RUNTS registration number and 144,400 (97.4%) list an email address.

Whole-register totals
149,139 Third-sector organizations
2000s Median decade on the register 105,606 records carry a date, the oldest from 1800
1 per 395 Residents per organization Against a population of 58,915,656 (World Bank, 2025)
53.9/100 Average integrity assessment A measure of disclosure, not impact or effectiveness

The average integrity assessment for Italian organizations on GiveRadar is 53.9 out of 100, and governance carries most of it: RUNTS makes officer disclosure mandatory for every entry, but it does not collect financial data, so GiveRadar holds a revenue figure for none of them (0%). The assessment measures what is published, not how well an organization works.

By category

What causes do Italian charities support?

Social services is the largest cause among Italian third-sector organizations on GiveRadar, covering 41,704 of the 148,192 total, ahead of arts and culture at 38,322, environment at 16,922, sport at 12,776, health at 12,471, community development at 10,812 and education at 7,413. That spread runs through cultural and sports associations as well as health and welfare charities, which is how Italy's ETS register is actually built, not an import artifact.

01 Social Services 41,818 28% 02 Arts & Culture 38,829 26% 03 Environment 17,092 11% 04 Sports & Recreation 12,874 9% 05 Health 12,533 8% 06 Community Development 10,671 7% 07 Education 7,497 5% 08 Advocacy & Civil Rights 1,168 1% 09 International 990 1%
Governance

Who runs Italy's registered ETS organizations?

GiveRadar shows who runs 148,150 of the 148,192 Italian ETS organizations it tracks (100%), drawn from 826,924 named officer records that Italian law requires RUNTS to publish. Each record carries a name, whether the office-holder is a natural or legal person, a legal-representative flag, the appointment date and the role held. Officer pay is not part of it: RUNTS does not collect or publish compensation for any office-holder, so GiveRadar does not show it either.

149,110 Third-sector organizations with a board on record 100% of the register
816,624 Named people on those boards 5.5 per organization on average

That coverage exists because article 48 of the Codice del Terzo Settore makes the identity of an ETS's office-holders mandatory register content, published by the ministry under a legal obligation rather than volunteered by the organization. The same article requires every registered ETS to deposit a bilancio d'esercizio or bilancio sociale within 180 days of its financial year end, on pain of removal from the register. GiveRadar does not hold Italian financial figures for any of these organizations; use the RUNTS lookup to check an organization's registration directly.

Age of the register

How old are Italy's registered ETS organizations?

GiveRadar has a founding year for 104,407 of Italy's 148,192 ETS organizations (70.5%), spanning entries from the 1870s to the 2020s. The 2020s count, 5,157, is small not because founding activity slowed but because RUNTS itself only began operating in the 2020s: older organizations were migrated in with their original founding dates, so most of the register's history predates the register itself.

626 1940s
1,407 1950s
2,112 1960s
4,184 1970s
8,871 1980s
16,961 1990s
25,960 2000s
37,976 2010s
5,837 2020s
Median decade
2000s
Earliest on record
1800
Records with a date
105,606 of 149,139

Registrations climb from 1,403 in the 1950s and 4,166 in the 1970s to 16,875 in the 1990s and peak at 37,757 in the 2010s, a steady build-up rather than a recent surge, before RUNTS's own start-up narrows the visible 2020s figure.

Location of nonprofits in Italy

Where in Italy are its ETS organizations based?

GiveRadar places 148,192 Italian organizations across the country, with a city recorded for all of them (100%). Of those, 148,082 (99.9%) also carry a region, a first-level area.

Charity density
Each region shaded by third-sector organizations. Boundaries: ISTAT regional boundaries via Opendatasoft.

Top cities

Rome has the most, with 6,961 organizations, followed by Milan at 3,885, Turin at 2,432, Naples at 1,943, Palermo at 1,706, Florence at 1,677, Bologna at 1,484 and Genoa at 1,308.

01 Rome 7,034 charities 02 Milan 3,910 charities 03 Turin 2,462 charities 04 Naples 1,908 charities 05 Palermo 1,711 charities 06 Florence 1,687 charities 07 Bologna 1,486 charities 08 Genoa 1,312 charities 09 Padua 885 charities 10 Bari 869 charities

Organizations by region

Lombardy 21,611 14.5% Lazio 13,582 9.1% Emilia-Romagna 12,057 8.1% Tuscany 11,684 7.8% Piedmont 11,655 7.8% Campania 11,448 7.7% Sicily 11,381 7.6% Veneto 11,130 7.5% Apulia 9,405 6.3% Trentino-Alto Adige 5,055 3.4% Marche 4,718 3.2% Calabria 4,523 3% Sardinia 3,888 2.6% Liguria 3,568 2.4%

Lombardy has the most, with 21,439 organizations, followed by Lazio at 13,429, Emilia-Romagna at 11,988, Tuscany at 11,583, Piedmont at 11,519, Campania at 11,496, Sicily at 11,321 and Veneto at 10,991.

Data sources

Where does GiveRadar's Italian data come from?

GiveRadar's 148,192 Italian organizations come from RUNTS, the Registro Unico Nazionale del Terzo Settore, the national register run by the Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali. RUNTS records social and cultural associations, sports clubs, mutual aid societies, philanthropic bodies and social enterprises, the seven sections the Codice del Terzo Settore defines as an ETS, so it is broader than a charity register in the English sense.

RUNTS, Registro Unico Nazionale del Terzo Settore lavoro.gov.it ↗
The national third-sector register run by the Ministero del Lavoro: section, statute, and the people holding office
149,139 records 100% coverage
Codice del Terzo Settore normattiva.it ↗
D.Lgs. 117/2017, the statute that defines who may be registered and what the office must check
One GiveRadar profile
149,139
Share of profiles carrying each field
Registration ID 100%
Financial return 0%
Expense breakdown 0%
Website 0%
Contact email 97.6%
Freshness

How current is GiveRadar's Italy data?

August 3, 2026 Register last refreshed The most recent full pass over the RUNTS register. Any profile with its own newer edit carries that later date instead.
August 18, 2026 This page last reviewed When the figures, wording and sources on this page were last checked against the register.

GiveRadar refreshes its Italian data with periodic bulk passes over the entity lists RUNTS publishes, rather than a live feed, so a very recent registration, cancellation or officer change may not appear immediately. Use the RUNTS lookup directly for the current status of a specific organization.

Learn more with our country guide

Giving in Italy

How the charity sector is regulated, what kinds of nonprofits operate, and how to evaluate them before you give.

Charities and nonprofits in Italy

Italy has a large and diverse Terzo Settore covering associations, foundations, social cooperatives, voluntary organizations, and social enterprises. The Third Sector Reform of 2017 (Codice del Terzo Settore, Decreto Legislativo 117/2017) created a unified national register, RUNTS, and modernized governance and tax rules across the sector.

Italy is also known for the 5 per mille, which lets a taxpayer direct 0.5% of their income tax to a chosen organization. Whether you are searching for a comprehensive list of Italian charities, a RUNTS database, or an ente del terzo settore directory, GiveRadar brings together each entity's registration record, the people holding office, news coverage, and an independent integrity score. Read about how GiveRadar works before you give.

How charities are registered in Italy

Italian Third Sector entities (Enti del Terzo Settore, ETS) register in the Registro Unico Nazionale del Terzo Settore (servizi.lavoro.gov.it), which replaced the earlier regional registers. Its sections cover voluntary organizations (ODV), social promotion associations (APS), social enterprises (impresa sociale), philanthropic entities, mutual aid societies, associative networks and other ETS.

Unlike most registers in this directory, RUNTS is checked: under article 47 of the Codice (normattiva.it) the competent office verifies that an applicant meets the Code's conditions and can refuse registration in a reasoned decision. Tax-deductible donations and access to the 5 per mille beneficiary list depend on that registration. The Istituto Italiano della Donazione, a private membership body, awards its own transparency mark to fundraising organizations that join it.

Major causes and well-known Italian charities

The Italian Third Sector is unusually broad and well-funded:

  • Health and medical research: AIRC (Fondazione AIRC per la Ricerca sul Cancro), Fondazione Telethon, AISM (Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla), Lega del Filo d'Oro, and ANT.
  • Humanitarian and international aid: Emergency, Save the Children Italia, Medici Senza Frontiere Italia, COOPI, AVSI, ActionAid Italia, and Intersos.
  • Social cooperatives: the backbone of Italian welfare-service delivery, especially in elderly care, disability, addiction recovery, and migration services.
  • Religion and missions: Caritas Italiana, dioceses, Sant'Egidio, and missionary congregations.
  • Children and youth: Telefono Azzurro, UNICEF Italia, SOS Villaggi dei Bambini, and Mission Bambini.
  • Culture, heritage, and environment: FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano), WWF Italia, Legambiente, museum foundations, and opera trusts.
  • Disability and inclusion: AIPD (Associazione Italiana Persone Down), UILDM, and ANFFAS.

Compare two organizations side by side with our charity comparison tool, or browse best health charities in Italy and best international charities in Italy to narrow by cause.

How to evaluate an Italian charity before donating

The 2017 reform raised the floor on Italian charity transparency, but the sector is large and uneven, so verification is worth a minute. Things to check before giving to any Italian charity:

  • RUNTS registration: the unified national register is the baseline for legitimate Italian Third Sector entities.
  • 5 per mille eligibility: only registered organizations appear on the official Agenzia delle Entrate beneficiary list (agenziaentrate.gov.it).
  • Audited accounts: larger ETS publish detailed financial statements (bilancio sociale for those above the size thresholds).
  • Istituto Italiano della Donazione (IID) accreditation: the strongest independent transparency signal for Italian fundraising charities.
  • Sanctions and watchlists: use our free charity checker tool to cross-reference every Italian charity against OFAC, EU, and UN watchlists automatically.

Each Italian charity profile on GiveRadar combines RUNTS registration, financial disclosure, governance (board and legal representative), contact availability, and data recency into a single 0-100 integrity score. Most profiles now carry the official RUNTS contact (PEC), registered address, founding date, activities, and full governing board pulled directly from the national register. Read our integrity score methodology for the full weighting.

Italian charity explorer: browse, filter, compare

This page works as an Italian charity explorer: every Italian Third Sector entity we hold data on, ranked and filterable by cause area, region, presence of a website, and size. Use the filters on the left to narrow by category (health, international, social welfare, religion, children, environment, culture, disability, advocacy, and more), and the search bar to find a specific organization by name.

GiveRadar refreshes its Italian records in periodic bulk passes over the published register data rather than a live daily feed, and each profile lists the people holding office. To compare Italian giving against other markets, browse all countries or jump straight to health charities globally.

Donating to charities in Italy

Most Italian charities accept card, bank-transfer (bonifico), and PostePay donations directly through their websites. Italian taxpayers can claim a 30% income-tax detrazione on donations to ETS up to 30,000 euros a year, rising to 35% for voluntary organizations, or alternatively deduct gifts within 10% of total income.

The signature giving channel remains the 5 per mille: when filing an IRPEF return, the donor writes the beneficiary's fiscal code in the dedicated section. GiveRadar links to each organization's official donation channel where we hold one. For a structured donor walkthrough, read our donor due-diligence guide.

FAQ

Common questions

What is RUNTS?

RUNTS, the Registro Unico Nazionale del Terzo Settore, is Italy's national register of third-sector organizations, run by the Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali. GiveRadar tracks 148,192 organizations from it. Registering in RUNTS makes an organization an ETS, an ente del Terzo Settore, under Italian law.

Does being listed in RUNTS mean an organization was checked?

Yes, with one qualification: a public office checks an applicant's statute against the Codice del Terzo Settore and can refuse registration by a reasoned, appealable decision. If it does not decide within 60 days, registration is granted anyway by silenzio-assenso, so not every entry is an explicit approval.

What is an ETS in Italy?

An ETS, ente del Terzo Settore, is any organization registered in RUNTS under one of seven legal sections, from voluntary organizations to social enterprises and mutual aid societies. It is broader than charity in the English sense: the same register also holds sports clubs and cultural associations.

What do ODV and APS mean on an Italian charity profile?

ODV stands for organizzazione di volontariato, a volunteer organization, and APS for associazione di promozione sociale, a social promotion association. Both are RUNTS sections an ETS can register under, and the section it sits in shapes which tax benefits, including the 5 per mille, apply to it.

Are donations to Italian ETS organizations tax-deductible?

Yes: individuals can deduct 30% of a donation to an ETS from tax owed, capped at 30,000 euros a year, rising to 35% for an ODV. Alternatively, the gift can be deducted from taxable income up to 10% of it, with any excess carried forward four years. The payment must be traceable, and the two routes cannot be combined.

What is the 5 per mille?

The 5 per mille lets an Italian taxpayer direct 5 thousandths of their income tax to a registered ETS at no extra cost, by naming its tax code on their annual return. An ETS applies for accreditation inside the RUNTS front office itself, and the Agenzia delle Entrate administers the payment lists that follow each year.

Who are the officers listed on an Italian charity's profile, and is their pay shown?

They are the people RUNTS records as holding a role or legal representation at that ETS: their name, their appointment date and their title. Their pay is not shown, because RUNTS does not collect officer compensation at all; GiveRadar publishes 826,924 such records for Italy, and none of them is a pay figure.

How do I verify an Italian organization's registration myself?

Use the RUNTS Ricerca-enti lookup at servizi.lavoro.gov.it, which searches by name, comune, section and codice fiscale or repertory number. The codice fiscale is the stable identifier: matching it against an organization's own website is the best way to confirm a registration GiveRadar reports actually belongs to it.

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