Voluntary association

A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, or just an association) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose. Common examples include trade associations, trade unions, learned societies and professional associations, environmental groups, and various other types of groups. Membership is not necessarily voluntary, as it may be effectively required in order to work, which is why some people use the term common-interest association to describe groups which form out of a common interest although this term is not widely used or understood. Voluntary Associations may be incorporated or unincorporated; for example, in the United States associations gained additional powers by incorporating. In the UK the term Voluntary Association/Voluntary Organisation covers every type of group from a small local Residents' Association to large Associations (often Registered Charities) with multimillion-pound turnover and running large scale business operations (often providing some kind of public service as sub-contrators to government departments or Local Authorities).