American Civil Liberties Union

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
720604244
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New Orleans, LA, USA
Phone
5045220628
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$432,723
Expenses
$275,865
Assets
$1,121,063
Liabilities
$381,055

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALANAH ODOMS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • PETRICE SAMS-ABIODUN (PRESIDENT)
  • LAILA HLASS (PRESIDENT)
  • LAUREN PHIPPS (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALANAH ODOMS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $206,994 total reported compensation
  • MEAGAN BACINELLI (DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR): $126,667 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To promote advocacy on legislative issues in support of civil rights and liberties. To advance the organization's civil rights and civil liberties agenda in the state of Louisiana legislature.

What it reported doing in 2024

To advance the organization's civil liberteries agenda in the state of Louisiana legislature.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.8%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $31.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 36.2%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.06; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.7%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.6% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53.8% of revenue deployed · 84.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $233K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $207K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.