New York · Nonprofit
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC (New York) receives grants from 49 organizations whose IRS filings report $50,905,874 to it, the largest being SANDLER FOUNDATION ($16,000,000). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $222M
- Funders on record
- 49
- Grants received
- $51M
- Net assets
- $195M
What American Civil Liberties Union Inc does
Mission
As noted in its articles of incorporation, the mission of the aclu is "to maintain and advance civil liberties, including, without limitation, the freedoms of association, press, religion and speech, and the rights to the franchise, to due process of law, and to equal protection of the laws for all people throughout the u.s. And its jurisdictions. The aclu's objects shall be sought wholly without political partisanship." the aclu today remains focused on the overarching goals set by its founders more than 100 yrs ago, 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 and in the district of columbia and 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 (asni) department, the national aclu 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 provides ongoing training and technical assistance to affiliates on a variety of topics of relevance. The $88,289,780 of expenses includes grants to affiliates, beyond the $8,546,612 grant, to support legislative initiatives. Asni provides ongoing training and technical assistance to affiliates on a variety of topics of relevance. The $88,289,780 of expenses includes grants to affiliates, beyond the $8,546,612 grant, to support legislative initiatives.
$88,289,780 spentof which $8,546,612 as grants59% of program spendingEducation - through newsletters, its comprehensive 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 provides ongoing education to its approximately 1,400,000 supporters and to the public at large concerning a wide range of civil liberties issues. The organization's educational campaigns emphasize 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.
$32,136,159 spent21% of program spendingLegislative advocacy - the aclu's legislative advocates are a constant presence on capitol hill and in state legislatures, where they work to address civil liberties issues. Based primarily in the aclu's washington, dc office, the organization's legislative policy team works to ensure that proposed legislation moves towards, rather than away, from the civil liberties goals of the organization. Working in collaboration with staff from aclu affiliates across the country and in coalition with other groups with a shared interest in specific civil liberties issues, the aclu conducts research, publishes position papers, hosts forums for the public, and meets with key legislators and members of their staffs to discuss strategies to protect civil liberties and rights.
$21,538,267 spentof which $1,761,420 as grants14% of program spendingLegal - 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 $6,263,161. Including grants of $0. 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 $1,308,411. Including grants of $0. Revenue $0.
$7,571,572 spent5% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $149,535,778.
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 2024 to 2025, from $177M to $243M (+37%).
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. 5 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 7 funders to 10 funders, grant income rose $342k → $10M.
14 of 49 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 1% 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: $5.6M from 2 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California); $64k from one payer (the same organization on both sides, largest American Civil Liberties Union Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC raised.
From the IRS filings of AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 49 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 INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 31% of grant income and the top three 80%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
100% 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 INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 51% · 2018 87% · 2019 92% · 2020 58% · 2021 49% · 2022 46% · 2023 49% — diversifying over time.
“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
12% of AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 33% 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
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC draws 56% of its grant income from funders outside New York, across 15 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $437k arriving through sponsors registered in 11 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 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
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 46 states
Part of a family of 2 related entities
- American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Inc · exempt
- ACLU Voters Education Fund · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION 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 INC?
- AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC (New York) receives grants from 49 organizations whose IRS filings report $50,905,874 to it, the largest being SANDLER FOUNDATION ($16,000,000). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC have?
- IRS filings report 49 organizations giving $50,905,874 in grants to AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC, 16 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC?
- SANDLER FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $16,000,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION 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 49 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