The process of writing statutes (also referred to as 'articles of incorporation') is the foundation of legally registering your organisation. Below are some guidelines on how to draft the statutes for a foundation and association.

❗The notary will write the actual statutes of your organisation. However, to make it easier for both parties, we recommend that you already think about what information you would like to include in your statutes.

How to create a foundation

Make a plan for your foundation. Put special thought into the following topics:

  1. Activities: what kind of activities will you offer?
  2. Target group: who would you like to invite to your foundation? For instance, students of a specific region or another faculty? However, do not forget that your organisation has to be open to everyone in order to be eligible for relevant subsidies from the University
  3. Goals: make a plan of what you would like to achieve within your foundation.
  4. Financial status: make an estimated counting of what expenditures could be expected and foresee the potential ways of raising money.
  5. House rules (optional): do not forget the drugs and alcohol policy!

Start drafting the statutes

Make sure that your official statues are in Dutch and cover the following topics:

  1. Mention the name of the company/project with the word “foundation” (stichting) as part of your name (e.g. Stichting Match)
  2. Goal/purpose
  3. Internal procedures for appointing and removing officers and decision-making
  4. Location (city and post address)
  5. Procedures if your foundation gets dissolved

On this website you can find an example of what basic lines to include in your statutes. Below is an example of the statutes of Match (in Dutch). It is good to have a clear of what you want to implement in your statues, but the notary will write the actual statutes with you.

Example Statutes Stichting (Match).docx

Visit the notary for a notarial deed

The notary will capture the target of your foundation in the statues. The average costs are €600 - €900. Make sure you have the needed amount of money before actually going to the notary!