Washington · Nonprofit
American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found
American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found (Washington) receives grants from 64 organizations whose IRS filings report $18,323,484 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($5,161,611). 40 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 83% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $16M
- Funders on record
- 64
- Grants received
- $18M
- Net assets
- $63M
What American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found does
Mission
To protect and extend civil liberties and civil rights, and to take action to further those liberties and rights within the state of washington.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Legal Program: The ACLU pursues impact litigation and files amicus briefs to uphold the Constitution and advance civil rights and civil liberties for all Washingtonians. We pursue cases that will effect widespread change, particularly those that impact communities historically most affected by racism and other forms of injustice in our society, whether in the areas of the criminal legal system, immigration rights, voting rights, LGBTQIA2S rights, unlawful surveillance, or access to health care.
$2,323,764 spent23% of program spendingPolicy Advocacy Program: The ACLU works to educate policy makers and stakeholders, promote policies that advance civil liberties, and oppose those that are harmful to equity and freedom. We work to implement long-term, systemic change for all people. We provide legal and policy guidance to agencies and government bodies to ensure that constitutional rights are protected and upheld. Signature programs include technology & liberty; campaign for smart justice; youth policy; immigration and policing; and access to health care.
$1,503,996 spent15% of program spendingCommunications Program: Educating the public is critical to defending civil liberties across the state. We engage the media to develop articles, frame issues, and influence opinions. We provide expert speakers on a wide range of civil liberties topics to schools and community groups, including know your rights trainings to support impacted communities ability to stand up for themselves. Through our member and public events, speakers bureau, and student outreach, the Communications Department rallies supporters, attracts new audiences, and empowers grassroots and other groups to promote civil rights.
$1,148,961 spent11% of program spendingRevenue sharing with national aclu organization
$5,095,872 spent51% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $10,072,593.
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. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2018 to 2019, from $17M to $38M (+126%).
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.
70% of American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (96% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 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.
Chief executive
Michele Storms
Executive Director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 21 funders to 22 funders, grant income rose $783k → $1.9M.
20 of 64 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 83% 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: $13M from 2 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest ACLU of Washington Endowment Fund). These are real filings, and they are not money American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found raised.
From the IRS filings of American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 64 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 of Washington Found has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 28% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
87% 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 of Washington Found.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 28% · 2018 28% · 2019 74% · 2020 23% · 2021 53% · 2022 30% · 2023 31% — growing more concentrated.
“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
45% of American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 63% 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
83% of American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found'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 $3.0M that is directly attributable, 73% of it comes from Washington funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $15M arriving through sponsors registered in 14 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.
Against its field
American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 63 civil rights nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 63 civil rights nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Organizations like American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found
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 Washington
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
78% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
65%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- ACLU of Washington · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found: 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 of Washington Found?
- American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found (Washington) receives grants from 64 organizations whose IRS filings report $18,323,484 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($5,161,611). 40 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 83% 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 of Washington Found have?
- IRS filings report 64 organizations giving $18,323,484 in grants to American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found, 40 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found?
- DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC is the largest funder on record, with $5,161,611 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Found find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington. 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 64 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing