What is foreningsliv in Denmark?
Foreningsliv - association or club life - is a central part of Denmark's social fabric. Rather than socialising in bars, cafés or on the streets, a big chunk of Danish social life has historically taken place around things like handball clubs, knitting circles, dancing groups and the like.
Figures from 2024 show that some 2.4 million people in Denmark are members of sports associations alone, with many involved in the running of those associations on a voluntary basis.
Danes are proud of the rather formal way clubs and associations are organised. Most have a board led by a chair, normally with a deputy chair, secretary, treasurer, and other board members. Even the most informal organisations – such as social societies for students at universities – will take minutes at meetings, prepare agendas and appoint a chair and a treasurer.
This level of organisation seems to be a "school for democracy", the fundamental building block of an effective system for reaching consensus that reaches all the way to the national parliament.
So for foreigners, getting involved in foreningsliv is a quick and effective way to get more integrated, helping them not only to meet Danes but also to understand how they think and what makes the country tick.
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What do you need to start a forening in Denmark?
There's nothing to stop you just getting together with some people with similar interests and just starting a club or association without registering it anywhere at all.
Freedom of association is one of Denmark's fundamental constitutional rights and that freedom includes the right to run your club however you see fit, without needing any permission to register it.
Any association considered to be based on the leisure interests, beliefs or hobbies of its members fall into this category and do not need to be registered with the Danish Business Authority (Erhvervs- og Selskabsstyrelsen). These can include sports, political and religious associations.
There are some situations where an association might be encompassed by business tax rules – for example, housing cooperatives. In these cases, the association does need to be registered.
You also do not need to have membership rules, a styrelse (board), or any officers. But Danes generally prefer to have this structure in place, whether or not they decide to register the club formally.
If you want your club or association to outlast you, want to have a shared bank account, or want to be able to apply for and receive grants, it can be worth registering as a voluntary organisation or frivillig forening. This means the organisation can get a business registration (CVR) number and a bank account (NemKonto).
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: The steps for starting a business in Denmark
How do you start a forening?
To establish a new club formally takes three clear steps.
You need to meet (or communicate online) to decide what sort of club or association you want to start, what the name will be, and sketch out what you will do.
You need to draw up a list of vedtægter or club statutes. These should include a description of the association's name, its aims and goals, and how decisions will be made.
You need to hold a meeting where the association is formally established and its board chosen, as well as a budget set and activities planned. This meeting is normally declared the stiftende generalforsamling or establishing general meeting, and will also include approval of the club statutes. The Centre for Voluntary Social Work (CFSA) has a useful ‘starter pack’ for new associations.
What needs to happen in the meeting establishing an association?
Protocols are taken very seriously in Danish foreningsliv, so the establishing meeting will typically be announced in advance on social media or with a leaflet posted somewhere where those likely to be interested might see it.
The meeting should be open to people unknown to the founding members, and the issues to be discussed should be laid out in an agenda sent out in advance.
The meeting will normally follow a standard agenda, which will run something like this:
- Register of all those present
- Selection of chair (dirigent) for the meeting
- Selection of secretary (referent) for the meeting
- Determination of the agenda for the meeting
- Discussion of the background for the proposed establishment of the association
- Vote on whether the association should be established
- Discussion and vote on whether the statutes (vedtægter) put forward should be accepted, including details on when annual general meetings take place
- Proposals and vote on budget and future activities
- Decision on a board, with a chair, treasurer and at least two board members
- Decision on date for next meeting
The following points can also be included:
- Discussion and vote on the name of the association
- Decision on whether there should be a membership fee (and if so, how much)
Both the chair and the secretary of the meeting will usually be required to sign the minutes – which act as the association’s ‘birth certificate’ or record of its founding principles and existence.
How to register a forening
If you want your club or association to have a bank account, be able to hire premises, apply for grants or work with companies or the municipality, you need to register it with the Danish Business Authority (Erhvervs- og Selskabsstyrelsen).
All of these things require a CVR number – an equivalent of the CPR personal registration number, but for business and organisations – and a standard bank account, a NemKonto.
The portal for registering an association with the Danish Business Authority can be found here.
What next?
It can be helpful for sports clubs to be part of an umbrella organisation for their sport, which is perhaps best done through this form on the website of Denmark’s two such organisations, DIF and DGI. Guidelines and application portals can be found here.
Sports associations can apply for funding through the DIF and DGI sports association funds, which grant around 50 million kroner per year, so looking into this is a must if you want to secure successful funding for your sports club.
You can also apply for grants from local municipalities or other authorities to help run your club or association, with applications in Copenhagen made on this page here, in Aarhus here, and in Odense here.
Good luck!
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