New York · Nonprofit
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC (New York) receives grants from 1583 organizations whose IRS filings report $766,141,406 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($216,663,695). 920 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 67% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $307M
- Funders on record
- 1,583
- Grants received
- $766M
- Net assets
- $780M
What American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Inc does
Mission
As noted in its articles of incorporation, the mission of the aclu foundation is "to encourage, sponsor, and facilitate the cultivation and diffusion of knowledge and understanding of the various civil liberties and civil rights which are protected by the constitution and laws of the united states or of the various states to persons involved in activities wherein their civil rights and liberties are threatened or infringed." the aclu foundation today remains focused on the overarching goals set by its founders, serving as the nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the constitution and laws of the us guarantee. The aclu also works to extend rights to segments of the population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including people of color; women; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender and gender nonbinary people; prisoners; and persons with disabilities.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Affiliate support - the aclu has an affiliate or chapter in every state, the district of columbia, and in puerto rico. Affiliates handle requests for legal assistance, lobby state legislatures and host educational forums throughout the year. The national aclu coordinates fundraising efforts with its affiliates and shares the proceeds of fundraising efforts with affiliates in accordance with a detailed policy. Through its affiliate support and nationwide initiatives department (asni), the national aclu also provides grants and support to affiliates on specific initiatives and projects that have been identified as involving matters of both local/regional and national significance. Asni offers training and technical assistance to affiliates across the country on a variety of topics of relevance.
$104,909,368 spentof which $20,642,763 as grants51% of program spendingLegal - the aclu foundation's litigation program is the cornerstone of its civil liberties program. The aclu today is the nation's preeminent civil liberties organization, with a staff of attorneys in the national office working in collaboration with attorneys at affiliate offices nationwide to address cases involving a wide range of civil liberties issues. The aclu appears before the u.s. Supreme court more than any other legal services organization or governmental agency except the u.s. Department of justice.
$71,745,129 spentof which $2,840,804 as grants$7,815,748 earned by the program35% of program spendingEducation - through newsletters, its website, advertisements, op-ed articles, media interviews, publications, social media, and numerous meetings and workshops conducted in collaboration with its affiliates throughout the us, the aclu foundation provides ongoing education to the aclu's approximately 1,400,000 supporters nationwide and to the public at large with respect to a wide range of civil liberties issues and concerns. A core component of the organization's educational campaigns is the emphasis on key rights, including first amendment rights to free speech, association and assembly; the right to equal protection under the law; the right to due process and to fair treatment when the loss of liberty or property is at stake; and the right to privacy and freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into personal and private affairs.
$17,161,977 spentof which $251,193 as grants8% of program spendingOther program services: legislative advocacy - the aclu seeks to impact civil liberties through work on legislation at the federal and state level, as appropriate. The organization's legislative advocates are a constant presence on federal and state civil liberties legislative issues. Updates on key legislative issues impacting civil liberties are included in mail, email, and other communications to aclu members nationwide, as well as in public education campaigns. In addition, the aclu develops policy relating to positions on civil liberties issues. Expenses $9,381,047. Including grants of $4,710,919. Revenue $0. Civil liberties policy formulation - the board of directors of the aclu works through its standing and special committees to analyze civil liberties issues and, where appropriate, to develop policies that will serve as the frame of reference for legislative, educational and case-specific work at the national level, and the organization implements and assists in the development of policy goals through its affiliates. Expenses $1,923,302. Including grants of $3,750. Revenue $0.
$11,304,349 spentof which $4,829,247 as grants$1,165,759 earned by the program6% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $205,120,823.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $502M to $735M (+47%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 417 funders to 488 funders, grant income rose $53M → $94M.
226 of 1583 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 67% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $6.4M from 2 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC raised.
From the IRS filings of AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 1583 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 28% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
71% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 25% · 2018 34% · 2019 35% · 2020 37% · 2021 26% · 2022 21% · 2023 25% — broadly stable.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
41% of AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 58% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
67% of AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $250M that is directly attributable, 60% of it comes from funders outside New York, across 48 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $517M arriving through sponsors registered in 41 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Organizations like AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
90%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 44 states
Part of a family of 11 related entities
- 915 15th Street LLC · disregarded
- 104 Greenwich Ave LLC · disregarded
- American Civil Liberties Union Inc · exempt
- Rbso Inc · exempt
- ACLU Voters Education Fund · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC?
- AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC (New York) receives grants from 1583 organizations whose IRS filings report $766,141,406 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($216,663,695). 920 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 67% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 1583 organizations giving $766,141,406 in grants to AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC, 920 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $216,663,695 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 1583 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing