What is the ACLU and what does it do?
What is the ACLU? The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
Where is the ACLU in the US?
Local affiliates of the ACLU are active in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The ACLU provides legal assistance in cases when it considers civil liberties to be at risk.
Where can I donate to the ACLU?
The ACLU accepts donations online, by telephone 1-888-567-ACLU, or by sending a check to ACLU Membership Department, 125 Broad Street, 18th floor, New York, NY 10004. You can also join the Action Network to hear about pressing issues.
How can I join the ACLU?
You can join online, by telephone 1-888-567-ACLU, or by sending a check to ACLU Membership Department, 125 Broad Street, 18 th floor, New York, NY 10004. Take a stand against the growing threats to our most cherished Constitutional liberties. I'm already an ACLU member. How can I contribute now?
Is the ACLU a good charity to donate to?
Exceptional. This charity's score is 95.38, earning it a 4-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.
How much money does the ACLU get from the government?
The ACLU works through litigation and lobbying, and has over 1,800,000 members as of July 2018, with an annual budget of over $300 million.
Is the ACLU a good thing?
ACLU proponents say the ACLU is the country's leading watchdog in protecting the civil liberties, freedoms, and rights of all people. They say the ACLU preserves the Constitution by defending liberty against government abuse and illegal policies.
What does the ACLU actually do?
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
Who does the ACLU lobby?
CongressSince 1920, the ACLU has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court more times than any other private entity. In addition to its state and federal litigation efforts, the ACLU lobbies Congress and works to educate the public on civil liberties issues.
Is the ACLU socialist?
The ACLU has no political affiliations and makes no test of individuals' ideological leanings a condition of membership or employment.
How does the ACLU make money?
The ACLU is supported by dues and more than $50 million in contributions annually from individuals and grants from foundations, and receives no government funding. It does not charge its clients. The ACLU Foundation is the tax-deductible, 501(c)(3) arm of the ACLU.
Is ACLU nonprofit?
The ACLU is nonprofit and nonpartisan. We do not receive any government funding. Member dues as well as contributions and grants from private foundations and individuals pay for the work we do.
What legislation does the ACLU oppose?
The ACLU opposes S. 1134 and H.R. 2253, the Back the Blue Act, legislation that creates new federal crimes for assaulting or killing federally funded law enforcement.
What does ACLU fight for?
protect civil libertiesThe ACLU fights to protect civil liberties and rights for all Americans in courts across the country.
What are the 5 civil liberties?
The five freedoms it protects: speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. Together, these five guaranteed freedoms make the people of the United States of America the freest in the world.
What's the difference between civil rights and civil liberties?
Civil rights refer to legal provisions that stem from notions of equality. Civil rights are not in the Bill of Rights; they deal with legal protections. For example, the right to vote is a civil right. A civil liberty, on the other hand, refers to personal freedoms protected by the Bill of Rights.
IRS Form 990s
On an annual basis, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation ( Learn more about the difference.) file a Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service. These forms include both financial data and important information about each organization's mission, governance, management, and programs.
Audited Financial Statements
Each year, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation ( Learn more about the difference.) prepare financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States that are audited by an independent accounting firm. Recent audited financial statements follow:
Where to send a check to the ACLU?
The ACLU accepts donations online, by telephone 1-888-567-ACLU, or by sending a check to ACLU Membership Department, 125 Broad Street, 18 th floor, New York, NY 10004. You can also join the Action Network to hear about pressing issues.
What does the ACLU believe?
The ACLU believes that the right of each and every American to practice his or her own religion, or no religion at all, is among the most fundamental of the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The ACLU works to ensure religious liberty is protected by keeping the government out of the realm of all religions.
How long does it take to get an ACLU membership card?
If you have recently become a member of the ACLU and are waiting to receive your member card in the mail, please note that it takes about 3-4 weeks to process a new membership application and card. If more than 4 weeks have passed and you have still not received your card, please contact [email protected] or call 212-549-2585.
What is ACLU Action Center?
The ACLU Action Center has a number of current action alerts that help you take action on a range of important issues. You can also join the ACLU Action Network and subscribe to weekly action alerts on the key issues and send free faxes to your members of Congress.
What is a plug in for the ACLU?
A "plug-in" is an additional piece of software used by a Web browser to display information, often in the form of audio, video and large-document files like court dockets. ACLU.org uses primarily the free-to-download software Flash Player and Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Who are the members of the ACLU?
Members and staff of the national ACLU and its affiliates may be Republicans, Democrats, Communists, Federalists, Libertarians, or members of any other political party or no party at all. What the ACLU asks of its staff and officials is that they consistently defend civil liberties and the Constitution.
What is the American Civil Liberties Union?
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Read more about the history and mission of ...
What is the ACLU?
The American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States ". The ACLU works through litigation and lobbying and it has over 1,200,000 members ...
How does the ACLU work?
The ACLU works through litigation and lobbying and it has over 1,200,000 members and an annual budget of over $300 million. Local affiliates of the ACLU are active in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The ACLU provides legal assistance in cases when it considers civil liberties to be at risk.
When did the ACLU become successful?
In 1932 – twelve years after the ACLU was founded – it had achieved significant success; the Supreme Court had embraced the free speech principles espoused by the ACLU, and the general public was becoming more supportive of civil rights in general. But the Great Depression brought new assaults on civil liberties; the year 1930 saw a large increase in the number of free speech prosecutions, a doubling of the number of lynchings, and all meetings of unemployed persons were banned in Philadelphia.
What was the ACLU's main goal?
Its focus was on freedom of speech, primarily for anti-war protesters. It was founded in response to the controversial Palmer raids, which saw thousands of radicals arrested in matters which violated their constitutional search and seizures protection. During the 1920s, the ACLU expanded its scope to include protecting the free speech rights of artists and striking workers, and working with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to decrease racism and discrimination. During the 1930s, the ACLU started to engage in work combating police misconduct and supporting Native American rights. Many of the ACLU's cases involved the defense of Communist Party members and Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1940, the ACLU leadership voted to exclude communists from its leadership positions, a decision rescinded in 1968. During World War II, the ACLU defended Japanese-American citizens, unsuccessfully trying to prevent their forcible relocation to internment camps. During the Cold War, the ACLU headquarters was dominated by anti-communists, but many local affiliates defended members of the Communist Party.
Is the ACLU a nonprofit?
Legally, the ACLU consists of two separate but closely affiliated nonprofit organizations, namely the American Civil Liberties Union, a 501 (c) (4) social welfare group; and the ACLU Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) public charity. Both organizations engage in civil rights litigation, advocacy, and education, but only donations to the 501 (c) (3) ...
Who founded the ACLU?
The ACLU developed from the National Civil Liberties Bureau (CLB), co-founded in 1917 during World War I by Crystal Eastman, an attorney activist, and Roger Nash Baldwin. The focus of the CLB was on freedom of speech, primarily anti-war speech, and on supporting conscientious objectors who did not want to serve in World War I.
Who was the executive director of the ACLU in 1970?
Administratively, the ACLU responded by appointing Aryeh Neier to take over from Pemberton as executive director in 1970. Neier embarked on an ambitious program to expand the ACLU; he created the ACLU Foundation to raise funds, and he created several new programs to focus the ACLU's legal efforts. By 1974, ACLU membership had reached 275,000.
Net Profit
The median net profit for Hague accredited agencies is $6,490. The average net profit is $68,693. This figure is from 110 agencies with records available, and is the average of their two most recent years. Net profit fluctuates more than revenue and expenses, so a two-year average was used for this figure.
Net Assets
The median net assets of Hague accredited agencies is $314,847. The average figure is $2.9 Million. Twelve agencies (10%) have a negative net worth according to their most recent form 990. The range of net assets (including buildings, vehicles, money held in trust for clients, investments, and cash) is from -$589,000 (debt) to +$59 Million.
Executive Compensation
Agencies are not required to report compensation of executive directors unless it is over $100,000, however, many agencies do. Eighty-nine agencies reported ED compensation on their form 990. The average figure is $96,662 with a median of $84,837. The range is from zero to $275,599.
Average Employee Wages
Agencies may report the number of employees on line 5 and the value of compensation on line 15 of form 990. If we divide these two figures, we can determine that the average salary of employees (combined full-time and part-time) including Executive compensation is $35,492.
Profit Margin
The median profit margin (calculated by average net profit over the last two years divided by gross revenue) among Hague accredited agencies is 0.66%! The average profit margin is 1.25%. That means for every million dollars collected, agencies on average only make a profit of $12,500.
How is the Money Spent?
To answer this question we examined the Form 990 of the ten largest adoption agencies, representing more than half the revenue in the entire field.
Conclusion
There is not a single adoption agency that stands out in this study as having an inappropriately high net revenue or net assets. On the contrary, the most significant finding is that the field contains several financially unviable agencies, and that the practice of intercountry adoption is not a profitable venture – it’s truly non-profit.
Summary
Citations
1. ^ Walker, p. 47.
2. ^ David Weigel (July 5, 2018). "The ACLU's Membership Has Surged and It's Putting Its New Resources to Use". Fortune.
3. ^ "ACLU Annual Report 2019 p. 18".
4. ^ "ACLU History," first section, paragraph 3. American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
Overview
The ACLU was founded in 1920 by a committee including Helen Keller, Roger Nash Baldwin, Crystal Eastman, Walter Nelles, Morris Ernst, Albert DeSilver, Arthur Garfield Hays, Jane Addams, Felix Frankfurter, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, and Rose Schneiderman. Its focus was on freedom of speech, primarily for anti-war protesters. It was founded in response to the controversial Palmer raids, which saw thousands of radicals arrested in matters which violated their constitutional search a…
Organization
The ACLU is led by a president and an executive director, Deborah N. Archer and Anthony Romero, respectively, in 2021. The president acts as chair of the ACLU's board of directors, leads fundraising, and facilitates policy-setting. The executive director manages the day-to-day operations of the organization. The board of directors consists of 80 persons, including representatives from eac…
Early years
The ACLU developed from the National Civil Liberties Bureau (CLB), co-founded in 1917 during World War I by Crystal Eastman, an attorney activist, and Roger Nash Baldwin. The focus of the CLB was on freedom of speech, primarily anti-war speech, and on supporting conscientious objectors who did not want to serve in World War I.
1930s
The late 1930s saw the emergence of a new era of tolerance in the United States. National leaders hailed the Bill of Rights, particularly as it protected minorities, as the essence of democracy. The 1939 Supreme Court decision in Hague v. Committee for Industrial Organization affirmed the right of communists to promote their cause. Even conservative elements, such as the American …
Mid-century
When World War II engulfed the United States, the Bill of Rights was enshrined as a hallowed document, and numerous organizations defended civil liberties. Chicago and New York proclaimed "Civil Rights" weeks, and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced a national Bill of Rights day. Eleanor Roosevelt was the keynote speaker at the 1939 ACLU convention. In spite of this newfound re…
1960s
The decade from 1954 to 1964 was the most successful period in the ACLU's history. Membership rose from 30,000 to 80,000, and by 1965 it had affiliates in seventeen states. During the ACLU's bi-annual conference in Colorado in 1964, the Supreme Court issued rulings on eight cases in which the ACLU was involved; the ACLU prevailed on seven of the eight. The ACLU played a role in S…