American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc

Overview

Mission

To maintain, defend and advance civil liberties and civil rights, including freedom of speech, press, religion, association and the rights to the voting franchise, to due process of law and to equal protection of the laws for all people in ri and throughout the USA.

What it reported doing in 2024

Engage in advocacy and educational activities to promote and protect civil liberties and constitutional rights including such issues as freedom of speech and religion, the right to privacy, due process and non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation and other protected categories.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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
050344518
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023
Headquarters
Providence, RI, USA
Phone
4018317171
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 33.4%; rating input score 33
  • Program expense ratio: 68.1%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $33.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 51%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.3; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 96.2%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.5% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 33.4% of revenue deployed · 68.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $128K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $181K · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 annual filings from 2021 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

19 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVEN BROWN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $180,678 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.