American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 520749684
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2024570800
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,007,265
- Expenses
- $1,191,457
- Assets
- $7,030,011
- Liabilities
- $896,306
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
28 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- HEIDI TSEU (PRESIDENT)
- ANTOINETTE PARHAM (VICE PRESIDENT, EQUITY OFFICER)
- SAMUEL DAUGHETY (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
- MONICA HOPKINS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- MONICA HOPKINS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $226,664 total reported compensation
- BRIGID SLIPKA (DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY): $190,035 total reported compensation
- NATHAN WARNER (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $176,883 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Preservation of civil liberties through advocacy and lobbying.
What it reported doing in 2024
Legislative: with some success, we have encouraged the council of the district of columbia to pass laws friendly to civil liberties and constitutional rights; with some success, we have discouraged the council from passing laws inimical to civil liberties and constitutional rights.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 78% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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 - 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: 47
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 52.5%; rating input score 53
- Program expense ratio: 49.9%; rating input score 50
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 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: 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: Fail
- 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: -18.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.9; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.7%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 52.5% of revenue deployed · 49.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $595K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $227K · 28 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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 53/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 50/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.