American Civil Liberties Union EIN 13-5628799

American Civil Liberties Union

EIN  13-5628799 Membership association New York, NY Founded 1951
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/19/26 · see original filing: IRS
Is this your organization?
Claim this profile to manage it and share your story.
Claim
Provided by the organization

This section is blank until American Civil Liberties Union claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

Size
$1–10M
What they do
Defends and promotes civil rights and liberties for all.
Leadership
Lieberman Donna · Executive Director · $313K
Money in and out
$6.4M revenue, $4.4M expenses
Bottom line
+31% operating surplus

Defends and promotes civil rights and liberties for all. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $6.4M in revenue, $4.4M in expenses, and $28.1M in net assets.Pt I

Membership & operating revenue · FY2025
Total revenue
$6.4M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$4.4M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$28.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $2.0M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.91 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.01
Operating surplus
+31%
revenue over expenses▲ +93% vs prior filing year
Earned revenue
0%
of revenue from program services & dues
Payroll share
61%
of spending is salaries & benefits▼ -12% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$6.4M
FY2025▲ +62%
Expenses
$4.4M
FY2025▲ +33%
Total assets
$29.2M
FY2025▲ +5%
Total liabilities
$1.1M
FY2025▼ -40%
Total revenue
$6.4M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$4.4M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$28.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$2.0M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$29.2M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B91%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 332
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 432
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $3.6M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Policy

Engages in policy analysis, legislative analysis, lobbying, public education and advocacy around civil rights and civil liberties issues and priorities consistent with the organizational strategic plan. In FY19, it was described as legislative.

$2.8Mprogram expense
02

Field

Seeks to influence public policy through grassroots organizing, public education, coalition building, online activism and direct lobbying in FY19, it was described as advocacy.

$458Kprogram expense
03

Education Policy Center

Legal and policy analysis, advocacy and occasional lobbying around civil rights and civil liberties issues relating to public schools. Its program includes a youth advocacy and development program.

$406Kprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CAmerican Civil Liberties Union
EINHdr · item D13-5628799
Principal addressHdr · item CNew York, NY
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.nyclu.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1951
State of legal domicileHdr · item MNY
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(4) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFNonprofit
Ruling yearIRS BMFApr 1972

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a32
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b32
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$313,309Pt VII · Sec A
Chapter Assistant Director
$147,422Pt VII · Sec A
Suffolk Chapter Regional Director
$109,195Pt VII · Sec A
Legal Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Of Education Policy Center
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Strategy Program Integration
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Financial Officer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Development Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 6 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Lieberman Donna$313,309$316,089$301,948$286,712$280,193$214,583
Holmes Brandon Westchester$147,422$125,036
Wong Shannon Westchester$121,722
Jaimes-Solis Irma$109,195$100,706
Rowland Lee$98,700
Perry Robert$56,364

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

See American Civil Liberties Union executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants100%$6.4M
Investment income$204
Total revenueLn 12$6.4M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.91 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.01
Program services91%$4.0M
Management & general8%$359K
Fundraising1%$38K
Total functional expensesLn 25$4.4M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$2.4M
Total assetsLn 16$29.2M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$1.1M
Total net assetsLn 32$28.1M
Months of cash on handcomputed6.5

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $2.4M · Operating expenses/yr $4.4M
6.5 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $4.0M · Total expenses $4.4M
91%
Management & General
Management & general $359K · Total expenses $4.4M
8%
Fundraising
Fundraising $38K · Total expenses $4.4M
1%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $43K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $5.1M
$0.01 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $6.4M · Total revenue $6.4M
100%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $6.4M
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $6.4M
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $204 · Total revenue $6.4M
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $4.4M
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $6.4M · Prior year $3.9M
+62%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $5.7M · FY2024 $6.4M
+2%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $28.1M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $6.4M · Expenses $4.4M
+31%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $29.2M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $28.1M · Total assets $29.2M
96%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $29.2M
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Lieberman Donna · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $313K · Total expenses $4.4M
7%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $2.7M · Total expenses $4.4M
61%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 91%
Overhead ratio 8%
Fundraising cost ratio 1%
Revenue growth 62%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 0%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$446K
Grants paid · 3 grants · $1.4M · 2023–2024
New Yorkers for Equal Rights INCNY · FY2024$1,000,000
New Yorkers for Equal Rights INCNY · FY2023$300,000

Compare

Search another nonprofit to view revenue, expenses, assets, key metrics, and leaders side by side

Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$6.4M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$3.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$5.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$5.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$6.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$5.7M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the peer-cohort and compensation comparisons above.