We are now a Foundation!

We are delighted to share with our international friends that on 1^st January 2026 the Community of Living Ethics stepped fully into its new ‘formal’ governance structure as a Foundation having started life as an Association.

Following some legislative changes in Italy we spent the last few years considering the most appropriate governance route to support the work we have been doing for the past 44 years.

The Fondazione Etica Vivente ETS (Foundation of Living Ethics) is the modern form in which l’Associazione Comunità di Etica Vivente (the Community of Living Ethics) manifests itself in the world, embodying its spiritual Purpose in action through training, culture and service and is the operational vehicle of the wider Sistema “Comunità di Etica Vivente” (Community of Living Ethics System).

The System is made up of different realities coordinated by a common Purpose, which act in complementary areas by collaborating to translate the principles and values of Living Ethics into concrete action.

Its purpose is:

“To be a centre of experimentation of the Law of Group Progress as our task for the Planetary Evolutionary Plan“

This means committing to living the group experience as a way of growing consciousness, where collaboration, sharing and service become tools for inner and collective evolution.

The Foundation will be carrying out educational, cultural, training, research, artistic and publishing activities (as previously undertaken by different parts of the Community), and has been set up to protect the ideal and material heritage of the wider System by guaranteeing transparency and unity of direction. It takes care of the Fundraising activities for the entire System and is the only legal personality of the System, embodying its principles of Beauty, Truth and Justice.

It operates according to the three pillars: Study, Meditation, Service.

Becoming a Foundation gives us much greater flexibility for outer expansion, something we feel is so needed to support the Hierarchical work across an even wider section of Humanity. We characterise it in some ways as extending further into matter – both in how we administer ourselves as a spiritual group as well as how we show up in the world.

As we know, the more we extend into matter so the higher we are called to reach toward Spirit. As part of our preparatory work in these past few years, we have been defining the Community of Living Ethics ‘System’ far more clearly so that we can bring even more spiritual power to all of our endeavours. We offer an insight to our System in the next two articles below.

You may be wondering how this change of governance affects the people who interact with us, whether that’s through the training we offer, the events and conferences we run or the meditative and study work we all do together. At one level we can say nothing will change – everyone will still have all the same opportunities to participate with us – just more of them.

At another level there will be some changes. For example, there is no longer a need for anyone to have to ‘join’ the Community to participate in a training, a school or an in-person event. Instead, people will simply choose the option they wish to try or participate in and pay the fee for that event. This is much more aligned to the outer world context within which we offer our activities.

We remain a Community founding on voluntary support and service and this is a fundamental premise for us. For some people this is not a practical option so in addition, the Foundation offers the option for people to show their regular support for our work through annual financial contributions. In addition, for those in Europe, any donations made will now be eligible for tax benefits (subject to certain limits).

In some ways we could say that by moving to a Foundation we are like an adolescent becoming an adult, metaphorically speaking, as we ensure that our processes, our communication and our governance are robust and clear yet still flexible and aligned with our core role as a spiritual server. It’s a tricky balance as you might imagine and one we are excited to embrace.

Do continue reading the articles below for more insights to this exciting next chapter in the history and service of the Community of Living Ethics.

by Marcello Spinello