They are entities born from the free organization and social participation of the population that develop actions of public interest without aiming at the Profit. CSOs deal with the most diverse themes and interests, with different forms of action, financing and mobilization.

In Mapa, OSCs are formally registered organizations (that is, that have a CNPJ) and that meet the following criteria:

• Private: are not integrated into the state structure;

• Non-profit: do not distribute any profits or operating surpluses among partners, founders, directors;

• Institutionalized: have their own legal personality, or are legally constituted

• Self-managed: capable of managing their own activities;

• Voluntary or non-compulsory: freely constituted by any group of people, without any legal impediment or constraint.

In Brazil, these criteria correspond to only three legal figures in the new Civil Code: private associations, private foundations and religious organizations. Therefore, only organizations that belong to these three types of legal entities are presented on the Map.

The term “Organization of Civil society” (OSC) represents only the most recent way of referring to those entities previously called “Non-Governmental Organizations” (NGO). These entities constitute social and political actors that are increasingly present in contemporary democracies.