ACLU Foundation of Iowa

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Iowa is the “educational” arm of the Iowa affiliate of the left-leaning ACLU activist organization. Founded in 1935, ACLU Iowa focuses on freedom of speech, abortion rights, voting rights, women’s rights, disability rights, and left-of-center race-relations policy, among other issues within the state of Iowa. 1

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Issue Areas: Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)
Website: www.aclu-ia.org
President:

President – Benjamin W. Allen2

Location: Des Moines, IA View on map
Tax ID: 42-1002093
Most Recent Filing: 2025
Budget (2025): Assets: $3,139,283 Revenue: $1,832,633 Expenses: $1,636,956

Activities

The ACLU Iowa splits its activity between Legal and Legislative efforts.

Legal

ACLU Iowa provides free legal assistance to individuals involved in civil rights disputes with Iowa state or local governments. Upon being contacted by a defendant, ACLU Iowa will review the case, and potentially seek attorneys to take the case pro bono. 3

The Foundation’s highest-profile case of 2019 was for Jon Goldsmith, a 50-year-old man from Red Oak, Iowa, who was charged with third-degree harassment after criticizing police conduct on his own Facebook page. With ACLU Iowa’s assistance, the charges were dropped and Goldsmith successfully counter-sued, resulting in a $10,000 settlement. 4

Legislative

ACLU Iowa supports left-of-center issues legislatively through lobbying5 and by publishing an annual scorecard on how closely the voting records of Iowan legislators at the state and federal levels accord with ACLU values. 6 The Foundation’s 501(c)(4) advocacy arm, ACLU Iowa, issues an annual scorecard of legislative votes: In 2018, of Iowa’s four federal Representatives, Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) had the highest score of 88% while Reps. Steve King (R-IA) and then-Rep. David Young (R-IA) each had a score of 0%. 7

Financial Statistics

Total Assets

Total Revenue

Total Expenses

YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
2025 $3,139,283 $1,832,633 $1,636,956 View
2024 $2,913,093 $1,711,576 $2,045,289 View
2023 $3,077,882 $1,523,047 $1,522,029 View
2022 $2,598,317 $1,403,346 $1,455,552 View
2021 $2,665,727 $1,482,035 $1,167,796 View

Prior year filings: 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

Revenue Detail

Expenses Detail

Employee Compensation

  • Number of Employees: 15

Highest Earning Employees

EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
Stringer MarkEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR$169,849
Austen Rita BettisLEGAL DIRECTOR$157,575
Mcroberts PeterPOLICY DIRECTOR$134,204
Story ThomasSTAFF ATTORNEY$126,445
Conroy SarahDEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR$111,611

Grant Activity

All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

  • Total Grant Value: $1,273,181
  • Number of Grants: 108
  • Number of Funders: 17

Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

AmountYearFunderSubject
$252,0002021 American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Inc.AFFILIATE PROGRAM, LOBBYING ACTIVITIES INCLUDED IN 501(H) ELECTION
$61,5002024 American Endowment FoundationCIVIL RIGHTS
$60,7502023 American Endowment FoundationCIVIL RIGHTS
$50,0002020 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION
$40,0002023 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION
$40,0002022 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION
$26,8002021 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
$25,1502023 Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc.PUBLIC, SOCIETAL BENEFIT
$25,0002023 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION
$25,0002023 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesSUPPORT FOR STAFF LAWYER HIRING.
$25,0002022 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT FOR STAFF LAWYER HIRING
$25,0002021 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION FOR CHEMISTRY STEAM DISTILLATION GLASSWARE
$25,0002021 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION FOR TECHNOLOGY NEEDS FOR HYBRID/ONLINE LEARNING
$25,0002020 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION
$20,5792023 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
$20,0002020 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION
$19,2502024 Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc.PUBLIC, SOCIETAL BENEFIT
$16,7252025 American Online Giving Foundation IncGENERAL SUPPORT
$16,5002023 Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust IncUNRESTRICTED GENERAL SUPPORT
$10,0002023 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION
$10,0002023 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGENERAL PURPOSES
$10,0002023 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION
$10,0002022 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION
$10,0002022 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION
$10,0002021 Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesGRANT DISTRIBUTION SOFTBALL FIELD

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Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

Mentioned in this Article

References

1. “About the ACLU of Iowa.” ACLU Iowa. Accessed December 15, 2019. https://www.aclu-ia.org/en/about/about-us.
2. “ACLU of Iowa Board of Directors.” ACLU of Iowa. Accessed December 15, 2019. https://www.aclu-ia.org/en/about/boardofdirectors.
3. “Frequently Asked Legal Questions.” ACLU Iowa. Accessed December 15, 2019. https://www.aclu-ia.org/en/frequently-asked-legal-questions.
4. “An Iowa Man Wins His Free Speech Suit After Being Charged for a Facebook Rant Against a Cop.” Reason. Accessed December 15, 2019. https://reason.com/2019/07/09/an-iowa-man-wins-his-free-speech-suit-after-being-charged-for-a-facebook-rant-against-a-cop/.
5. “Our Legislative Work.” ACLU Iowa. Accessed December 15, 2019. https://www.aclu-ia.org/en/our-legislative-work.
6. “Iowa Legislative Voting Record.” ACLU Iowa. Accessed December 15, 2019. https://www.aclu-ia.org/en/iowa-legislative-voting-records.
7. “Legislative Report and Civil Liberties Scorecard.” ACLU Iowa. Accessed December 15, 2019. https://www.aclu-ia.org/sites/default/files/final_9-25-18_voter_scorecard_.pdf.