American Civil Liberties Union of Maine

Overview

Mission

Mission - the aclu of Maine works to support bills that advance civil rights and civil liberties and oppose bills that would curtail them. We also provide voter education about how to vote and voting rights at the polls. We do not endorse candidates.

What it reported doing in 2024

Legislative advocacy - the aclu of Maine's legislative advocates have an active presence in augusta, working to protect and advance civil liberties in Maine. During the 132nd legislature, we supported bills to limit how private tech companies collect and use our electronic data, ensure young people have access to gender-affirming care and equal access at school, ensure the right to a speedy trial, and strengthen our state's commitment to focusing our law enforcement resources on Maine. We opposed bills that would worsen mass incarceration, restrict bodily autonomy, limit reproductive freedom, discriminate against transgender students, violate the first amendment, make it harder to exercise the right to vote, and discriminate against non-citizens.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010285070
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2011
Headquarters
Portland, ME, USA
Phone
2077745444
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 53
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 37.8%; rating input score 38
  • Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $21.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 53.1%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.64; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.5%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.7% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 37.8% of revenue deployed · 75.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $132K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $121K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 annual filings from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MOLLY CURREN ROWLES (EXECUTIVE DI): $121,215 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.