ACLU of New Mexico

What ACLU of New Mexico does

ACLU of New Mexico is the New Mexico state affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union (founded 1920), structured as two affiliated nonprofit entities — the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico (Union) and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico Foundation (Foundation). The organization defends civil rights and constitutional liberties for New Mexico residents through a combination of impact litigation, legislative advocacy at the state level, and community organizing, with an issue portfolio spanning criminal legal reform, Indigenous justice, immigrants' rights, free speech, LGBTQ+ rights, privacy, racial justice, reproductive freedom, and voting rights. Headquartered in Albuquerque, it is led by an Interim Executive Director and staffed by specialized in-house counsel handling Indigenous justice and reproductive rights/religious refusal matters. The organization maintains no subsidiaries and reports to a Board of Directors; Leon Howard currently serves as Interim Executive Director following Peter Simonson's tenure.

The organization's core service products are delivered through its website at aclu-nm.org and include a Legal Complaint Submission System for civil rights intake, a Know Your Rights educational resource library, an Action Center for petitions and legislative contact, news and press release distribution, and donation/membership functionality. There is no proprietary technology platform; the digital stack is described in source materials as 'Not applicable' for a civil rights nonprofit. Notable litigation wins include the McKenzie Johnson v. Board of Education ruling at the New Mexico Supreme Court (January 2025) establishing that public schools are subject to the New Mexico Human Rights Act, the successful Voting Rights Act challenge to San Juan County's redistricting plan on behalf of the Navajo Nation, and a settlement securing equal access to birth control at Walgreens pharmacies nationwide.

ACLU of New Mexico operates a community-led go-to-market model funded by individual donations, recurring memberships, and foundation grants, with services provided free of charge to beneficiaries. Marketing and distribution channels emphasize grassroots organizing, email action alerts, community events (including the 'For the People' annual awards event), earned media, and website content. Strategic partnerships include co-counsel arrangements with DLA Piper and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, advocacy coalitions with the Southwest Women's Law Center, Young Women United, and the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, and regulatory partnerships with the New Mexico Pharmacists Association and the Navajo Nation Department of Justice. Geographic reach is statewide within New Mexico; no international operations are present.

Name

ACLU of New Mexico

Legal name

American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico

Website

https://aclu-nm.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ACLU of New Mexico is a nonprofit state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union that defends civil rights and constitutional liberties for New Mexico residents through impact litigation, legislative advocacy, and community organizing across voting, reproductive, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ rights.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Albuquerque

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: The organization generates revenue through individual donations, membership fees, and recurring contributions from supporters. The website features prominent donation and membership CTAs.
2. Foundation Grants: ACLU of New Mexico receives funding through foundation grants and may participate in data cooperatives with like-minded nonprofit organizations for fundraising purposes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ACLU of New Mexico is a nonprofit civil liberties organization that provides free legal representation, impact litigation, legislative advocacy, and community education on constitutional rights for New Mexico residents. It operates across issue areas including criminal legal reform, indigenous justice, immigrants' rights, free speech, LGBTQ+ rights, privacy, racial justice, reproductive freedom, and voters' rights, delivering services through direct legal intake, Know Your Rights resources, and grassroots organizing.

Product overview

ACLU of New Mexico is a nonprofit civil liberties organization whose primary digital offering is its website platform. The platform provides a unified suite of services including a legal complaint submission system for civil rights violations, Know Your Rights educational resources, an action center for advocacy and petitions, news and press release distribution, event information, and donation/membership functionality. All these services are accessed through the central website at aclu-nm.org.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully won the McKenzie Johnson v. Board of Education case at the NM Supreme Court, establishing that public schools are subject to anti-discrimination laws.
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Navajo Nation Department of JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Navajo Nation Department of Justice partnered with ACLU of New Mexico and other organizations to file a lawsuit against San Juan County for discriminatory redistricting that violated the Voting Rights Act.
• Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under LawcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational civil rights legal organization that served as co-counsel in the Navajo Nation voting rights case against San Juan County.
• UCLA Voting Rights ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic legal organization that partnered with ACLU of New Mexico to represent Navajo voters in the San Juan County redistricting case.
• DLA PipercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaw firm that served as co-counsel representing the Navajo Nation and Navajo voters in the voting rights lawsuit against San Juan County.
• Navajo Nation Human Rights CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment body that partnered with ACLU of New Mexico to advocate for Navajo voters' rights in the San Juan County redistricting lawsuit.
• Southwest Women's Law CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with ACLU of New Mexico to write letters to Walgreens and file Human Rights complaints regarding pharmacy discrimination against women seeking reproductive healthcare.
• Young Women UnitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with ACLU of New Mexico to advocate for pharmacist prescriptive authority for contraception in New Mexico.
• New Mexico Pharmacists AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with ACLU of New Mexico to change rules allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control in New Mexico, making it the fourth state to do so.
• New Mexico Center on Law and PovertycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization representing McKenzie Johnson in the lawsuit against Albuquerque Public Schools for discrimination against Native American students.
• Parnall & Adams LawcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaw firm serving as co-counsel in the McKenzie Johnson v. Board of Education case at the New Mexico Supreme Court.
• Data Cooperatives for NonprofitsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerACLU of New Mexico participates in nonprofit data cooperatives to grow its donor base and identify prospective supporters through shared data arrangements with like-minded organizations.
• State Bar of New MexicominorOthersReferral resource provided to individuals whose cases do not meet ACLU criteria, directing them to the State Bar's General Referral Program.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• National Women's Law Center: National policy and legal-advocacy organization for women's rights — broader portfolio than ACLU-NM but directly comparable on reproductive-rights impact litigation and donor-funded advocacy.

Direct peers

• NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund: National civil rights impact-litigation organization; directly comparable on racial justice, voting rights, and education-equity litigation with the same nonprofit legal-advocacy business model.
• American Civil Liberties Union (National): National parent and brand federation for ACLU of New Mexico; operates the same civil-liberties mission at federal scope and routes donor acquisition to state affiliates including ACLU-NM.
• Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: National civil rights legal organization; documented co-counsel partner of ACLU-NM in the Navajo Nation voting rights case — operates an essentially identical nonprofit impact-litigation model.
• Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF): National Latino civil rights organization with a focus on voting rights, education, and immigration — closely comparable to ACLU-NM's Indigenous/communities-of-color litigation portfolio and impact-litigation model.
• Southwest Women's Law Center: New Mexico-based legal-advocacy organization; documented co-counsel partner of ACLU-NM on reproductive-rights pharmacy cases — same nonprofit legal-advocacy business model and overlapping issue focus.
• ACLU of Texas: Peer state ACLU affiliate in Texas operating under the same federation model, with directly comparable scope of state-level civil-liberties litigation, donor-driven revenue, and community organizing motion.
• New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty: New Mexico-based legal-advocacy nonprofit; documented co-counsel partner in the McKenzie Johnson case — directly comparable on state-level impact litigation for civil and economic rights.
• Lambda Legal: National impact-litigation nonprofit focused on LGBTQ+ civil rights — directly comparable mission overlap on one of ACLU-NM's active issue areas, with similar litigation-and-advocacy model.
• Southern Poverty Law Center: Civil rights nonprofit combining impact litigation, advocacy, and public education; directly comparable on multi-issue civil liberties litigation and donor-funded nonprofit operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aclu-of-new-mexico

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ACLU of New Mexico