7th OCTOBER 2025: A DAY TO REMEMBER

The date of the 7th of October recalls the tragic events involving Hamas and Israel. The violence and tensions continue today, and 2025 marked the second anniversary of these brutal acts. For the friends of the Thouret Foundation, however, the 7th of October 2025 represents an important and eagerly awaited historic moment. For more than a year and a half, the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity (founding body), represented by Superior General Sister Maria Rosa Muscarella and her Council, together with the Foundation’s Board of Directors, including Dr. Sarnari, accountant, and Notary Calegari, have been working hard to update the Statute, this is a fundamental step to request registration in the Single National Register of the Third Sector (RUNTS) established by Legislative Decree 117/2017, and to definitively lose the designation Onlus, now replaced by ETS (Third Sector Entity). The Board of Directors, in particular, reviewed at least four or five drafts of the Statute, clarifying the issues that inevitably emerged during this process. We are grateful to Dr. Sarnari and Notary Calegari for their expert advice, which enabled us to finalise a new Statute that not only complies with the regulations, but also brings the Thouret Foundation intopath with the Church.

A fundamental step in this renewal process was to define the type of ETS that the Foundation should adhere to, among the various types established or re-proposed by the law. There are six specific categories: voluntary organisation, social promotion association, associative network, social enterprise, mutual aid society and charitable organisation. Considering the variety of activities carried out by the Thouret Foundation, ranging from volunteer training to missionary outreach (in schools, parishes, etc.), from providing information to creating a missionary culture, the type that best suited it was that of a charitable organisation in its capacity to ‘provide money, goods or services, including investments, to support disadvantaged groups or activities of general interest’. With Resolution No. G16193 of 1 December 2025*, the Thouret Foundation finally became a Third Sector Organisation (ETS) with the obligation to include the title of Charitable Organisation (EF) in its name.

The choice of qualificaion affects the legal status of the organisation, particularly in terms of taxation, since certain rules do not apply to all ETSs but only to those registered in a specific section. Among the most interesting benefits is the possibility of participating in numerous public and private, national and European tenders and accessing specific funding, especially those in partnership with the public administration, other private bodies and mixed partnerships. In return for these benefits, there is greater strictness in accounting and reporting and the publication, on the organisation’s website, of its social report, which must be drawn up every year regardless of the amount of revenue obtained and its source. The procedures governing the drafting of the report must comply with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies. We are therefore ready for this new historical phase, which represents a challenge and an opportunity for the Foundation to create stronger networks, distinguishing itself even more for its reliability, professionalism and transparency. To do all this, we need the help of everyone, partners and beneficiaries, local representatives and intermediate bodies: everyone must be committed to promoting the “heritage” of knowledge, best practices and relationships that the Foundation has worked hard to build, nurture and maintain over the years. words of appreciation to everyone who contributed to achieving this important milestone, and to all those who, from now on, will embrace this new adventure with our entire team! Sr Isabella Ayme

*DETERMINATION no. G16193 of 01/12/2025:

Registration of the organisation ‘FONDAZIONE THOURET – FOUNDATION FOR THE PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY’ (rep. no. 160008, tax code 97745070587) in the ‘CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS’ section of the Single National Register of the Third Sector, pursuant to Article 22 of Legislative Decree no. 117 of 3 July 2017, as amended and Article 17 of Ministerial Decree no. 106 of 15 September 2020.