ACLU of New Jersey

What ACLU of New Jersey does

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit civil liberties organization founded in 1960 and headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. It operates as a state affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union through two legal entities: the ACLU of New Jersey, Inc. (a 501(c)(4) advocacy arm) and the ACLU-NJ Foundation, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) charitable arm), along with the ACLU Voter Education Fund. Its mission is to defend and extend the civil liberties guaranteed by the U.S. and New Jersey constitutions for all residents regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or immigration status.

ACLU-NJ delivers its work through an integrated advocacy model combining litigation, policy advocacy, community organizing, public education, and strategic communications. Core services include a free online legal intake system for civil liberties matters, direct legal representation in precedent-setting cases, know-your-rights educational resources spanning voting rights, immigrant rights, transgender rights, and student rights, and advocacy campaigns on issues including voting access and LGBTQ+ student protections. The technology stack is a standard nonprofit digital platform (aclu-nj.org plus intake.aclu-nj.org) with a documented privacy and data governance framework; there is no proprietary AI/ML or software product.

The organization is led by Executive Director Amol Sinha (since 2017) and is funded primarily through individual donations and membership dues, with donor intake partly routed through the national ACLU's action.aclu.org infrastructure. ACLU-NJ works through extensive co-counsel partnerships with New Jersey and national law school clinics (Rutgers, Seton Hall, Georgetown), pro bono law firms (Gibbons P.C., Lowenstein Sandler), and advocacy coalitions (Garden State Equality, Education Law Center, CATA, Brown's Promise).

Name

ACLU of New Jersey

Legal name

American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, Inc.

Website

https://aclu-nj.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The ACLU of New Jersey is a Newark-based nonprofit civil liberties organization, founded in 1960, that provides free legal representation, policy advocacy, and know-your-rights education to New Jersey residents on issues including immigrant rights, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and criminal legal reform, funded primarily through individual donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Liberties Legal Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAA)

Keywords

• Civil liberties advocacy
• Legal representation services
• Constitutional rights defense
• Nonprofit legal services
• Civil rights litigation

Headquarters

HQ city

Newark

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The ACLU-NJ's work relies mainly on individual donations. Donors are never given special consideration in case review.
2. Membership Dues: When individuals become members of the National Union, they typically also become members of ACLU-NJ's Union Organization if their mailing address is in New Jersey.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The ACLU of New Jersey is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that defends and extends constitutional civil liberties for New Jersey residents. It provides free legal representation in select cases with precedent-setting potential, conducts policy advocacy, community organizing, public education, and strategic communications on issues including free speech, immigration rights, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, criminal legal reform, racial justice, and reproductive freedom.

Product overview

ACLU of New Jersey is a nonprofit civil liberties organization that provides a portfolio of advocacy services rather than a unified technology product. The organization offers legal assistance intake services for individuals seeking representation in civil liberties cases, Know Your Rights educational resources covering voting rights, transgender rights, and interactions with law enforcement, and runs advocacy campaigns on issues including voting rights expansion and LGBTQ+ student protections. These services are delivered through the organization's website (aclu-nj.org) and do not constitute a traditional software product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Legal Assistance Intake

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 9,000 people released from New Jersey's prisons and jails through decarceration work
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Brown's PromiseminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2026Co-amicus organization in Latino Action Network v. State of New Jersey school segregation case, represented by Chief Legal Counsel GeDá Jones Herbert.
• Racial Equity in Education Law and Policy Clinic of Georgetown University Law CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2026Co-amicus law school clinic in Latino Action Network v. State of New Jersey school desegregation case.
• Education Law CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2025Education advocacy organization co-filing amicus brief with ACLU-NJ in Heaps v. Delaware Valley Regional High School Board of Education case.
• Rutgers Immigrant Community Assistance ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2025Partnership with Rutgers University legal clinic to provide legal representation and support for immigrant communities. Collaborated on filing federal lawsuit on behalf of international students targeted by ICE.
• Gibbons, P.C.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2025Law firm providing attorneys from the John J. Gibbons Fellowship in Public Interest and Constitutional Law at Gibbons P.C. for representing Rutgers students in immigration case.
• ACLU Immigrants' Rights ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 August 2024National ACLU project collaborating with ACLU-NJ on farmworker wage discrimination lawsuit and international student immigration cases.
• Seton Hall Law School Center for Social JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 August 2024Law school clinic providing co-counsel on farmworker wage discrimination case, with Professor Jenny-Brooke Condon serving as Director.
• Garden State EqualitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2024LGBTQ+ advocacy organization partnered with ACLU-NJ and Lowenstein Center for the Public Interest on amicus briefs defending transgender student rights in school policies.
• Lowenstein SandlerminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPro bono law firm providing legal representation for amicus briefs in Platkin v. school districts case on transgender student rights.
• ACLU Racial Justice ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational ACLU program collaborating on farmworker wage discrimination case challenging racial inequities in labor law exclusions.
• El Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas (CATA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrassroots farmworker organization on whose behalf ACLU-NJ filed lawsuit challenging New Jersey's farmworker exclusions from wage and hour protections.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• American Civil Liberties Union (National): National parent organization that provides shared brand, programs, and donor infrastructure. Functions as both parent and broader peer operating across all 50 states with deeper resources and national policy reach.
• NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund: Major national civil rights legal organization pursuing impact litigation and policy advocacy on racial justice, voting rights, and criminal justice — overlapping issue verticals with ACLU-NJ and frequently co-counsel on precedent cases.
• Southern Poverty Law Center: National civil rights organization using litigation, education, and advocacy on immigrant rights, criminal justice, and LGBTQ+ issues. Comparable integrated advocacy model with overlapping donor base and similar public-interest law positioning.
• Human Rights Watch: International human rights research and advocacy organization. Operates at broader scope but comparable mission-driven model combining research, litigation support, and donor-funded operations on overlapping civil liberties themes.

Direct peers

• New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU): ACLU's New York state affiliate and the most structurally comparable peer. Operates under the same affiliate model with litigation, policy, and organizing arms on overlapping civil liberties issues; ACLU-NJ's Executive Director previously directed NYCLU.
• Lambda Legal: National civil rights organization focused on LGBTQ+ civil liberties through impact litigation, advocacy, and education. Directly comparable on transgender student rights, employment discrimination, and healthcare access cases — issue areas where ACLU-NJ is actively litigating.
• Center for Constitutional Rights: National impact litigation organization focused on civil liberties, immigrant rights, and racial justice. Comparable on federal litigation against ICE and structural rights cases, including the Latino Action Network-type school desegregation matters.
• National Immigration Law Center: National advocacy organization defending immigrant rights through litigation, policy, and communications. Directly comparable on the Rutgers international student / ICE F-1 status issue area where ACLU-NJ has active federal litigation.

Regional players

• Garden State Equality: New Jersey's largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization and ACLU-NJ's named co-partner on transgender student rights amicus briefs. Comparable on issue focus within the same state and frequently partners with ACLU-NJ on litigation.
• Education Law Center: New Jersey-based education justice organization that co-files amicus briefs with ACLU-NJ in school discipline and equity cases. Comparable student rights issue focus within the same NJ geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aclunj
• Facebookfacebook.com/aclunj
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-civil-liberties-union-of-new-jersey

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ACLU of New Jersey