American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 950490250
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Phone
- 2139779500
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,032,569
- Expenses
- $5,160,029
- Assets
- $9,387,425
- Liabilities
- $600,744
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
57 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CARLOS AMADOR (PRESIDENT)
- DAX GOLDSTEIN (VICE PRESIDENT)
- MALEK MOAZZAM-DOULAT (VICE PRESIDENT)
- CONNIE TCHENG (VICE PRESIDENT)
- HECTOR VILLAGRA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (THRU 12/24))
Highest reported compensation
- HECTOR VILLAGRA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (THRU 12/24)): $427,758 total reported compensation
- JULIE WEINSTEIN (CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER): $277,374 total reported compensation
- DEBORAH ROBERSON (CHIEF HR OFFICER (THRU 02/25)): $251,367 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
See schedule o for detailssee form 990, part i, line 1
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization provided public policy research and advocacy, as well as public education and technical guidance on issues, pertaining to civil liberties and civil rights. Among other things, it helped return deported veterans to the u.s., pass a bill ensuring all students have a safe learning environment regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, stop legislation that would have increased the criminalization of unhoused californians, prevent legislation that would have allowed for the proliferation of police attack dogs, and make los angeles a sanctuary city.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 80% for direct work, 1% for grants, and 19% for affiliated organizations.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 59
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 63.8%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 72.8%; rating input score 73
- Fundraising efficiency: $18.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 14.5%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.82; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 25%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 16.6% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 63.8% of revenue deployed · 72.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $428K · 57 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $117K reported
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.