American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Louisiana

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
720717944
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New Orleans, LA, USA
Phone
5045220628
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Public, Societal Benefit

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,132,957
Expenses
$16,860,792
Assets
$6,687,746
Liabilities
$436,303

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

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

Highest reported compensation

  • ALANAH ODOMS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $212,244 total reported compensation
  • NORA AHMED (LEGAL DIRECTOR): $172,510 total reported compensation
  • MEAGAN R BACCINELLI (DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR): $135,664 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 support the work of the amercian civil liberties union of Louisiana through litigation, public education and limited lobbying in support of civil liberties.

What it reported doing in 2024

At the aclu of Louisiana, we seek to protect the civil rights and liberties of all Louisiana by working to dismantle systems of opression that harm the most vulnerable members of the community specifically, black, brown, immigrant, and lgbtq people. We do this by constructing a vigorous legal, policy, and community centered strategy dedicated to ending white supremacist policy and law.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.8%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 94.3%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $40.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 66th 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: 1.6%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.4; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 35.5% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 29.1% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.9% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.8% of revenue deployed · 94.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $15.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $212K · 18 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 46 of 46 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.