The ACLU receives funding from a large number of sources. The distribution and amount of funding for state affiliates varies from state to state. For example, the ACLU of
New Jersey reported $1.2 million in income to both the ACLU-NJ and its affiliated tax-exempt foundation in the 2005 fiscal year. Of that income, 46% came from contributions, 19% came from membership dues, 18% came from court awarded attorney fees, 12% came from grants, 4% came from investment income and the remainder from other sources. Its expenses in the same period were $800,000, of which 12% went to administration and management ACLU-NJ,
Annual Report,
ACLU-NJ,
2005. Smaller affiliates with fewer resources, such as that in
Nebraska, receive subsidies from the national ACLU.
[17]
The ACLU periodically receives court awarded legal fees. For example, the New Jersey chapter reported receiving 18% for awarded legal fees in the fiscal year 2005. In 2004, these awards made up 3% of their ACLU Foundation funding and 0% of the ACLU.
[20] The Public Expression of Religion Act of 2005, introduced by Representative
John N. Hostettler, seeks to alter prior civil rights legislation to prevent monetary judgements in the particular case of violations of church-state separation.
[21] Also, groups such as the
American Legion have taken stances opposing the ACLU's right to collect fees under such legislation.
[22]
Recovery of legal fees by non-profit legal advocacy organizations is common practice. The
pro-life Thomas More Law Center, for example, generally seeks, and is successful in, recovery of legal fees in the same manner as the ACLU.
[23][24]
Due to the nature of its legal work, the ACLU is often involved in litigation against governmental bodies, which are generally protected from adverse monetary judgements: a town, state or Federal agency may be required to change its laws or behave differently, but not to pay monetary damages except by an explicit statutory waiver.
[25][26]
In some cases, the law permits plaintiffs who successfully sue government agencies to collect money damages or other monetary relief. In particular, a 1976 federal law (amended in 1988), the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act leaves the government liable in some civil rights cases. Fee awards under this civil rights statute are considered "equitable relief" rather than damages, and government entities are not immune from equitable relief.
[27] Under laws such as this, the ACLU and its state chapters sometimes share in monetary judgements against government agencies.
[28]
The ACLU has prevailed in numerous church-state cases. The Georgia chapter was awarded $150,000 in fees after suing a county for the removal of a
Ten Commandments display from its courthouse;
[29] a second Ten Commandments case in the State, in a different county, led to a $74,462 judgment.
[30] Meanwhile, the State of
Tennessee was required to pay $50,000, the State of
Alabama $175,000, and the State of
Kentucky $121,500, in similar Ten Commandments cases.
[31][32]
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