France has long maintained a tradition of organized charity, inherited from the Catholic Church, the Enlightenment, republican and socialist thought, and laïcité. This tradition has shaped a unique nonprofit landscape in Europe: today, nearly 1.5 million nonprofits are active in France (Recherches & Solidarités, 2024), with a significant share working in solidarity, culture and popular education.
From the 19th century to republican Enlightenment
In the 19th century, France saw a flourishing of charitable works, mostly led by the Catholic Church: Société de Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (1833), Petites Sœurs des Pauvres (1839), many diocesan works. In parallel, the republican and socialist movement developed mutual aid societies, ancestors of Sécurité sociale.
The law of 1 July 1901: a foundational act
The law of 1 July 1901 on the contract of association marks a turning point. Backed by minister Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, it recognized freedom of association and set a simple framework: declaration with the Préfecture, registration number (RNA), legal capacity, ability to employ staff and collect donations.
More than 120 years later, this law remains the foundation of nearly all French nonprofits — including major humanitarian NGOs.
Major French charities of the 20th century
Secours catholique – Caritas France (1946)
Founded after WWII by Mgr Rodhain, Secours catholique is one of France's largest charities. It supports more than one million people per year.
Secours populaire français (1945)
Born from the workers' movement, Secours populaire is a secular, independent association providing food aid, clothing, school support and children's holidays. Motto: "Everything human is ours."
Emmaüs (1949)
Founded by Abbé Pierre, Emmaüs has developed since 1949 an original model: "compagnons" — people in great precarity — live and work in Emmaüs communities, recovering and reselling objects.
Restos du Cœur (1985)
Launched by Coluche in 1985, Restos du Cœur distributes millions of meals each year, mobilizing more than 70,000 volunteers throughout France.
La Cimade (1939)
Born during WWII within French Protestantism, Cimade supports foreigners in France, asylum seekers and people in detention centers.
Médecins Sans Frontières (1971) and Médecins du Monde (1980)
Two French humanitarian NGOs that have become global references, founded by doctors on the idea that health is a universal right, without borders.
The French nonprofit ecosystem today
According to Recherches & Solidarités (2024), France has:
- 1.5 million active nonprofits
- 21 million volunteers
- 1.8 million nonprofit employees
- A combined budget estimated at €113 billion
The nonprofit sector employs more than 10% of private sector employees in France.
Donating in France: generosity, taxation and trust
France is one of the European countries where taxation most generously encourages giving:
- 66% of the donation is deductible from income tax for individuals (within 20% of taxable income)
- 75% of the donation for nonprofits helping people in difficulty (Restos du Cœur, Secours catholique, Croix-Rouge)
- For companies, 60% of the donation is deductible from corporate tax (within 0.5% of revenue)
Current sector challenges
Despite its vitality, the French nonprofit sector faces several challenges: declining public subsidy in favor of more unstable project calls, aging volunteers in some historic structures, renewing engagement (skills sponsorship, occasional volunteering, microdons), increasing administrative complexity (GDPR, taxation, labor law).
It is precisely on this last point — administrative complexity — that LORD intervenes: we believe a good nonprofit is measured not only by its generosity, but also by its legal and social rigor, which protects its volunteers, employees and beneficiaries.
LORD in this history
The LORD nonprofit, registered in 2015 under SIREN 812 992 352, modestly fits into this French nonprofit tradition. Our specificity: bridging the gap between administrative complexity (URSSAF, CESU URSSAF, CAF, CROUS) and the audiences most distant from it (artists, cleaning staff, students in precarity, individual employers without information).
Like our predecessors, we believe in organized, sustainable and independent solidarity.