ACLU of Texas

What ACLU of Texas does

ACLU of Texas is the Texas state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, operating as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization with an affiliated 501(c)(3) foundation (ACLU Foundation of Texas; Tax ID 76-0343171). Founded in 1938 and headquartered in Houston with regional offices in Dallas, Austin (State Capitol), and Brownsville (Rio Grande Valley), the organization maintains a 57-person staff and a Texas membership exceeding 50,000 individuals. Its advocacy portfolio is organized around six declared issue areas: Border and Immigrants' Rights, Free Speech and Pluralism, Justice System and Carceral Reform (Smart Justice), LGBTQIA+ Equality, Reproductive Freedom, and Voting Rights and Democracy.

The organization's core programmatic offerings are the Know Your Rights (KYR) education program, which delivers bilingual constitutional-rights presentations and downloadable resources; the Immigrants' Rights Hotline (1-833-HOU-IMMI), which provides multi-lingual intake and referrals in Spanish, English, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Arabic; and a Legal Assistance Intake System that funnels case requests across the six issue areas (the affiliate formally accepts less than 1% of submitted cases). Campaign-specific resource hubs extend its footprint into reproductive health information (tbh… / La Mera Verdad), transgender K-12 student resources (TxTransKids.org), racial-justice policy (Systemic Equality for Texas), and pandemic-era civil-liberties tracking. Underlying technology is conventional web infrastructure — online intake forms, email newsletters, downloadable PDFs, and a telephone hotline — with no proprietary AI, platform, or data systems disclosed.

ACLU of Texas is funded through a diversified donor model: individual membership dues, one-time and recurring donations, tribute gifts, gifts of stock and securities, IRA qualified charitable distributions, and planned/estate gifts. Services are free to constituents. Go-to-market is community-led and direct-to-consumer: grassroots mobilization, Know Your Rights presentations, digital action alerts, and coalition-led advocacy campaigns, coordinated with the national ACLU on major litigation including multi-round challenges to Texas Senate Bill 4, the Supreme Court birthright citizenship case, and PFLAG v. Abbott.

Name

ACLU of Texas

Legal name

ACLU of Texas

Website

https://aclutx.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ACLU of Texas is the Texas state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, operating as a 501(c)(4) non-profit with 57 staff across four regional offices. It delivers bilingual Know Your Rights education, a multi-lingual Immigrants' Rights Hotline, and litigation in six civil-liberties issue areas, funded by individual membership dues and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Rights Advocacy and Legal Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Rights, Privacy & Free Expression Advocacy (BPAGAFAL)

Keywords

• Civil rights advocacy
• Constitutional rights education
• Immigration legal services
• Voting rights protection
• Criminal justice reform

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston, TX

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from individual supporters. More than 50,000 Texans and more than half a million Americans nationwide are ACLU members.
2. One-Time and Recurring Donations: Tax-deductible contributions to the ACLU Foundation of Texas through various giving options including one-time gifts, monthly recurring gifts, and tribute gifts in honor/memory of individuals.
3. Gifts of Stock and Securities: Donors can make gifts via stock, bonds, or mutual funds. Tax ID# 76-0343171. Checks made payable to ACLU Foundation.
4. IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions: Federal law allows people age 70½ or older to make direct transfers up to $100,000 per year per person to charitable organizations from their IRA without the withdrawal being treated as taxable income.
5. Planned Giving and Estate Gifts: Bequests and legacy gifts through wills, allowing supporters to include ACLU in their estate plans.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ACLU of Texas is a non-profit civil liberties advocacy organization that provides free legal assistance intake, Know Your Rights education in English and Spanish, an immigration rights hotline with multi-language support, and targeted advocacy campaigns across six issue areas: Border and Immigrants' Rights, Free Speech, LGBTQIA+ Equality, Reproductive Freedom, Smart Justice, and Voting Rights. Services are delivered free of charge and funded through membership dues and donations.

Product overview

The ACLU of Texas is a civil rights advocacy organization offering a portfolio of educational resources, legal services, and advocacy campaigns rather than a traditional technology product. The core offerings include the Know Your Rights (KYR) Program providing bilingual constitutional rights education; the Immigrant Rights Hotline (1-833-HOU-IMMI) offering immigration legal information in multiple languages; and the Legal Assistance Intake System for case requests. The organization also runs specialized campaigns including tbh... Resource Hub for reproductive health, Resources for Transgender Youth (TxTransKids.org), Trust Respect Access for reproductive freedom, Systemic Equality for racial justice, and COVID-19 and Civil Liberties. These are primarily advocacy and education initiatives supported by digital resources including downloadable posters, web-based guides, and an online intake form for legal assistance requests.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Know Your Rights (KYR) Program Community education initiative providing bilingual (English/Spanish) resources and presentations about constitutional rights when interacting with law enforcement, immigration officials, at workplaces, voting, and healthcare settings. Available to Texas residents and community groups.
• Immigrant Rights Hotline (1-833-HOU-IMMI) Telephone hotline providing immigration legal information, referrals to legal services, rights education, and reporting of immigration enforcement incidents. Operates 9am-5pm Mon-Fri in Spanish and English with interpretation in Vietnamese, Mandarin, Arabic, and other languages.
• Legal Assistance Intake System Online intake form for submitting requests for legal assistance. Accepts less than 1% of cases, reviewing only matters related to six issue areas: Border/Immigrants' Rights, Free Speech, LGBTQIA+ Equality, Reproductive Freedom, Smart Justice, and Voting Rights.
• tbh... Resource Hub Collection of tools designed to make reproductive health information clear, accessible, and easy to share. Available in English and Spanish (La Mera Verdad).
• Resources for Transgender Youth in Texas (TxTransKids.org) Resource hub for transgender, non-binary, and genderqueer K-12 students in Texas, providing information about school facilities access, GSAs, bullying, and dress codes. Partnership with Equality Texas, Lambda Legal, and Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT).
• Know Your Rights Posters Downloadable bilingual posters created by Texas artists to help keep Texans safe when encountering immigration enforcement, available in multiple sizes (8.5x11 and 11x17).
• Systemic Equality for Texas Racial justice agenda addressing legacy of systemic inequality through policy and legal advocacy, focused on promoting reconciliation (policing/mass incarceration reform), extending empowerment (voting rights), and increasing access (abortion, disaster recovery).
• Spanish-Language Immigrants' Rights Hotline (Línea directa de derechos de inmigrantes) Spanish-language version of the Immigrants' Rights Hotline, providing information about immigration rights, legal referrals, and reporting immigration enforcement incidents in Spanish with interpretation available in other languages.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• TxTransKids.org CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2019Initiative including ACLU of Texas, Equality Texas, Lambda Legal, and Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) providing resources for transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming K-12 students.
• Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative (HILSC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2017Collaborative partnership for immigrant rights hotline operation. HILSC provides immigration legal services expertise and coordinates with other partners for the 1-833-HOU-IMMI hotline providing information, referrals, and support to immigrants.
• Boat People SOScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2017Partner in the Immigrants' Rights Hotline providing services to Vietnamese-speaking immigrant communities. Contributes staff to answer hotline calls.
• BakerRipleycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2017Formerly Neighborhood Centers Inc., BakerRipley provides community services and staff for the Immigrants' Rights Hotline expansion starting March 2018.
• United We DreamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2017Immigrant youth-led organization that staffs the Immigrants' Rights Hotline and provides organizing and advocacy support for immigrant communities.
• Houston Volunteer LawyerscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 May 2017Pro bono legal services provider contributing volunteer attorneys to the Immigrants' Rights Hotline and ACLU litigation efforts.
• Tahirih Justice CentercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 May 2017Provides legal services and advocacy for immigrant women and girls fleeing violence, staffing the Immigrants' Rights Hotline.
• Trust Respect Access CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Multi-year campaign coalition including ACLU of Texas, NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, Texas Freedom Network, Texas Research Institute, and Whole Woman's Alliance to restore reproductive health care access in Texas.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NAACP Legal Defense Fund: National civil rights legal organization focused on racial justice, voting rights, and criminal justice reform. Comparable as a federated civil rights legal advocacy group with overlapping issue portfolios, especially on voting and Smart Justice work.
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): National parent organization of ACLU of Texas; same civil liberties mission across all 50 states. Directly comparable as the federated umbrella entity that ACLU of Texas operates under.
• Southern Poverty Law Center: National civil rights organization with focus on hate groups, immigrant justice, and criminal justice reform. Operates at a much larger scale than ACLU of Texas but pursues adjacent advocacy, litigation, and education missions.

Direct peers

• Lambda Legal: National LGBTQIA+ civil rights legal organization; ACLU of Texas is already a coalition partner through TxTransKids.org. Directly comparable on LGBTQIA+ litigation, including the Doe v. Abbott transgender family case.
• American Immigration Council: National immigration policy and litigation organization producing research, litigation support, and policy advocacy. Directly comparable to ACLU of Texas's immigration litigation and policy work in Texas.
• Texas Civil Rights Project: Texas-based civil rights legal organization working on immigrants' rights, voting rights, and criminal justice. Directly competes for donor dollars, volunteer mobilization, and legal talent in ACLU of Texas's home geography and core issue areas.
• Equality Texas: Texas LGBTQIA+ advocacy organization that is a coalition partner with ACLU of Texas on TxTransKids.org. Directly comparable on Texas LGBTQIA+ policy advocacy and grassroots mobilization.
• National Immigration Law Center: National advocacy organization dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of low-income immigrants. Directly comparable on immigrants' rights litigation, policy advocacy, and SB4-style enforcement challenges.
• Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF): National Latino civil rights legal organization with strong Texas presence; pursues voting rights, immigrants' rights, and educational equity litigation. Directly comparable to ACLU of Texas's immigration and voting rights docket.

Regional players

• Texas RioGrande Legal Aid: Texas-based legal aid provider serving low-income Texans, including immigrants. Listed by ACLU of Texas as a partner referral organization; directly comparable on free legal services delivery to vulnerable populations in Texas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aclutx

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 Texas