New York Civil Liberties Union Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
135628799
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2126073300
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,383,661
Expenses
$4,381,028
Assets
$29,198,874
Liabilities
$1,051,707

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

Leadership & pay

41 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LIEBERMAN DONNA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • PRISTIN DAVID (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • STRYKER WENDY (PRESIDENT)
  • KOWITZ MARGOLIES JULIE (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LIEBERMAN DONNA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $378,521 total reported compensation
  • EISENBERG ARTHUR (EXECUTIVE COUNSEL): $289,383 total reported compensation
  • PRISTIN DAVID (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $282,355 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 defend and promote civil rights and civil liberties.

What it reported doing in 2024

Policy - engages in policy analysis, legislative analysis, lobbying, public education and advocacy around civil rights and civil liberties issues and priorities consistent with the organizational strategic plan. In fy19, it was described as legislative.

Operating model

Revenue model
Membership-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The program-spending lines do not add up, so the filing cannot show reliably whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.4%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 90.9%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $168.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 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: 31.4%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.66; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 24.8%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.4% of revenue deployed · 90.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 32 of 32 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $379K · 41 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.