American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
616058569
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Louisville, KY, USA
Phone
5025819746
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,211,171
Expenses
$2,066,627
Assets
$4,354,398
Liabilities
$317,250

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • OMAR SALINAS CHACON (PRESIDENT)
  • STEPHANIE JOHNSON (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • AMBER DUKE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMBER DUKE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $172,067 total reported compensation
  • COREY SHAPIRO (LEGAL DIRECTOR): $157,401 total reported compensation
  • ANGELA COOPER (COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR): $125,199 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 american civil liberties union of Kentucky (aclu) is freedom's watchdog, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people by the constitutions of the united states and the commonwealth of Kentucky.

What it reported doing in 2024

Litigating on behalf of transgender kentuckians: our legal team continued litigating with parents of transgender youth across Kentucky to challenge the healthcare portions of a law that inserts lawmakers between doctors and patients. This law prohibits essential medical care by targeting health care providers and threatening them with loss of licensure if they provide that care to minors. The law violates the fundamental rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children.during fy25, the supreme court of the united states decided to review the sixth circuit's decision preventing transgender youth from receiving necessary medical care in Tennessee and Kentucky. While the court decided not to review the Kentucky law specifically, the doj's failed challenge to the sixth circuit's decision (announced during fy26) means our case will not be able to move forward. Despite the ruling on gender-affirming care, we will never stop fighting for transgender kentuckians' right to equal protection under the law and freedom to access the things they need to live full and authentic lives.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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

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 few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.4%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 57%; rating input score 57
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.5%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.11; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.7%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.4% of revenue deployed · 57% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $172K · 25 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.