American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
420892616
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017
Location
Des Moines, IA, USA
Phone
5152433988
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$467,329
Expenses
$464,061
Assets
$946,621
Liabilities
$79,531

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GILLER ANDY (PRESIDENT)
  • MANNETTER HEIDI (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • STRINGER MARK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • STRINGER MARK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $169,849 total reported compensation
  • AUSTEN RITA BETTIS (LEGAL DIRECTOR): $157,575 total reported compensation
  • MCROBERTS PETER (POLICY DIRECTOR): $134,204 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The union works to advocate and advance a public policy agenda to support and protect the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of Iowa. It works to maintain throughout the united states the rights of free speech, free press, free assemblage and other civil rights and to take all legitimate action in furtherance of such purposes and encourage, through a program of education, a better understanding and respect for civil liberties by all Iowa residents.

What it reported doing in 2024

Legislative & policy program services: (1) drafted model legislation to protect people's due process rights before government agencies regarding eminent domain; passed the Iowa house of representatives in 2024. (2) continued our multi-year emphasis on open government, anti-slapp (first amendment), and eviction expungement as part of our affirmative agenda; anti-slapp, open government, and eviction expungement all passed the Iowa house of representatives in 2024. (3) continued capitol corps programming through the end of the 2024 legislative session to help constituents meet their legislators. (4) leading organization in opposing an anti-homeless local ordinance in Iowa's largest city. (5) in summer 2024, we expanded religious and service provider coalition to advance protections for survivors of domestic violence, specifically, on the issues of eviction records expungement and early lease termination for survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and harassment - core issues based on race and gender disparities in legal protections and services. (6) in january 2025, we doubled our in-house lobbying team at the Iowa legislature by adding additional affiliate staff to our policy program. (7) we reinstituted capitol corps constituent engagement program in 2025 to focus on anti-slapp, open government, eviction expungement, and the Iowa civil rights act (icra); in feb 2025, we had more than 400 direct constituent actions on icra from our new capitol corps 2025 volunteer base of more than 300 people. (8) we were among the chief advocates against removal of gender identity from the Iowa civil rights act, but unfortunately, we were unsuccessful. (9) anti-slapp, open records, and eminent domain bills all passed the Iowa house of representatives and were eligible for consideration by the Iowa senate as of the end of the fiscal year. (10) continued our ongoing efforts to meet more Iowa state legislators, specifically, Iowa state senators, to determine where we can be helpful in areas in which their work protects civil rights and civil liberties and we are succeeding; we have maintained existing strong relationships with legislators of all parties, and have expanded our role as trusted voices.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 92% 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 available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.1%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 62%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: $448.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th 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: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

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: 0.7%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.04; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 33.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63.1% of revenue deployed · 62% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $288K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $170K · 25 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.