MISSION

The ACLU of Virginia is a private, non-profit organization that uses lobbying, litigation and public education to promote civil liberties and civil rights in the state. We are an affiliate of the national ACLU, with whom we share resources and expertise.

The principal mission of the ACLU of Virginia is to protect the constitutionally mandated freedoms that government tends to erode, and to advance rights clearly intended by our Constitution, but never fully implemented in our society.

 

The ACLU organization in Virginia…

There are two separate ACLU entities in Virginia:

• The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, Inc. is the non-profit organization to which membership dues are paid. Dues paying members who reside in Virginia are automatically members of both the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the national American Civil Liberties Union.  Membership donations and other contributions to either the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, Inc. or national American Civil Liberties Union are not tax-deductible.

• The ACLU Foundation of Virginia is a non-profit organization that provides legal assistance and conducts educational programs. Donations to either the ACLU Foundation of Virginia or the national ACLU Foundation are tax-deductible.

For an explanation of the difference between the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation, click here.

With few exceptions, donations made either to the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, Inc. or the ACLU Foundation of Virginia are shared with the corresponding national ACLU entity, and vice versa. 

There are over 500,000 ACLU members nationwide with 9,000 of them living in Virginia.