WE THE PEOPLE CREATING A FAIRER, MORE JUST NORTH CAROLINA... TOGETHER
WHEN A TEACHER is fired by a Catholic school after announcing he will marry his male partner...
WHEN YOUNG READERS are denied access to library books on gender and sexual orientation...
WHEN PROTESTERS face police violence and pepper spray as they march to voting polls...
WHEN INCARCERATED PEOPLE are shackled during childbirth...
. . . the ACLU of North Carolina is there to protect and defend their rights. We are hard at work in North Carolina’s courts, legislature, and communities to root out policies and practices that threaten people’s civil liberties.
Right now, by supporting this work, you can amplify the voices of North Carolina residents who are thrust to the sidelines because of race, income, gender identity, sexual orientation, immigrant status, or current or past incarceration. They have inherited systems that were created neither by them nor for them. Over the past several years, you’ve seen how the threats to civil liberties have intensified, and the rhetoric is growing even more hateful and divisive.
Now is the time for ALL OF US to stand together to create a better, stronger North Carolina.
OUR VISION
Together, we will create a North Carolina that is a new model for the South, with protected and expanded civil rights for all—and a powerful example our neighboring states can look to when their residents confront similar challenges. As a purple state in a Southern region that is mainly red, we have the potential to set a civil liberties agenda that will advance our state and create a regional ripple effect for years to come.
“AS THE SOUTH GOES, SO GOES THE NATION.”
—W.E.B. DUBOIS
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JUSTICE FOR ALL IN NORTH CAROLINA DEPENDS ON ALL OF US.
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Photo: Clay Banks via Unsplash
WHAT KIND OF NORTH CAROLINA DO YOU WANT TO LIVE IN
...and build for your family, friends, neighbors, and everyone who calls our state home?
Right now, by supporting the ACLU, you can advance and protect civil rights throughout every one of our state’s 100 counties.
The ACLU of North Carolina needs more experts in advocacy, community engagement and mobilization, litigation, and lobbying who can expand and deepen our reach. Over the next few years, the ACLU of NC must grow our budget by 50% to attract more of the best talent—and empower our staff with the resources required to respond to issues rapidly.
Your support ensures that we will not only respond to threats as they arise but also create and sustain a grassroots movement to promote lasting change. You can empower our staff to educate the public, inspire their advocacy, and strengthen the ACLU’s partnerships throughout our state. You can help us be proactive and not just reactive.
This is a pivotal moment in our state’s and our nation’s history.
Photo: ACLU
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We cannot meet this moment without you.
Our six priority areas share a single focus: to protect everyone’s bodily autonomy by challenging the people, policies, and institutions that seek to exert control over the freedom of others.
YOUR SUPPORT WILL HELP US:
FIGHT FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
by dismantling systems that are deeply rooted in racist policies, practices, and attitudes that harm Black and Brown people.
WORK FOR REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE
by protecting access to safe and legal abortion, as well as the opportunity for people to make their own decisions about whether and when to have children and get the care they need.
PROTECT IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
and put a stop to anti-immigrant policies at the state and local level.
ADVANCE LGBTQIA+ EQUALITY
by fighting for legal protections and challenging laws and policies that disproportionately criminalize LGBTQIA+ people.
ENSURE VOTING RIGHTS
by expanding access to voting and working with partners statewide to combat efforts to undermine this cornerstone of our democracy.
TRANSFORM THE CRIMINAL/LEGAL SYSTEM
by reducing the number of people incarcerated in North Carolina, as well as protecting and expanding the rights of those who are incarcerated.
WHEN Elaine White feared for her life at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to crowded conditions and lack of precautions at the Center for Community Transitions in Charlotte, she and her sister turned to the ACLU-NC. Elaine had nearly finished her sentence, and she knew that being over 65 and having diabetes put her at increased risk of severe illness and death. “I had done everything I could to show I had paid my debt to society, and I wanted to be somewhere safe,” she says. The ACLU secured her release to her sister’s home, and beyond that, worked with partner organizations to bring a lawsuit to Superior Court that resulted in the release of over 3,500 incarcerated people at high risk due to unsafe prison conditions.
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Photo: ACLU-NC Dare Coulter’s 2017 “Dare to Dissent” mural in downtown Raleigh.
WHY
NOW? US? YOU?
Since our founding in 1965 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the ACLU of North Carolina has worked tirelessly to protect the rights of Black and Brown Americans. This focus remains at the very heart of who we are today, as white supremacy remains a formidable opponent.
After our 50th anniversary in 2015, we all witnessed the emergence of brazen new threats to civil rights—from police brutality caught on camera, to white nationalist marches and the Muslim travel ban, to efforts to undermine established rights such as marriage equality, abortion, voting, and peaceful protest. A surge in private donations from concerned citizens like you, along with greater investment from the national ACLU, allowed us to nearly triple our staff from just eight people to 23 so that we could face these threats head-on.
Now, just a few years later, our civil rights remain under attack, especially in the South. We cannot let this moment pass. We must keep building our team and their capacity to expand and protect the rights of all North Carolina residents.
WHEN YOU SUPPORT
the ACLU-NC, you ensure that our state has the powerful ACLU it needs, with an even stronger presence in the General Assembly, courtrooms, and communities. Every day, thanks to your generosity, our people work side-by-side with the North Carolinians whose freedoms are most at risk.
ROUGHLY 2/3 OF THE ACLU OF NORTH CAROLINA’S FUNDING COMES FROM INDIVIDUAL DONORS JUST LIKE YOU.
“While attacks on civil liberties are not new, in the last several years, there has been an even greater call to action on so many fronts - racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, immigrant's rights, voting rights, and abortion rights, to name a few. I support and joined the Board of the ACLU of NC because it engages on the front line, advancing these critical issues throughout North Carolina and at the national level.”
–Jabrina Robinson, Assistant Dean, International Studies at Duke Law School and Board Member, ACLU-NC
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CAN YOU IMAGINE A NORTH CAROLINA WITHOUT A STRONG ACLU PRESENCE?
Our expertise, our reputation, and our ties to the national ACLU put us in an ideal position to bring organizations together to raise awareness of and fight against laws and policies that limit people’s freedoms—and enact new and better ones.
YOUR generosity makes this possible.
In just the past few years, working closely with partner organizations, together we’ve changed hundreds of thousands of lives by:
Leading a coalition to oppose anti-immigrant state legislation that would require local law enforcement agencies to collaborate with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Helping pass the NC Second Chance Act, which led to just under 422,000 criminal record expunctions in 2022—freeing people to rebuild their lives
Filing a lawsuit that resulted in a $338,000 settlement for “I am Change March to the Polls” peaceful protesters in Graham, NC, who were met with police violence and pepper spray during early voting and voter registration in 2020
Securing a veto for HB324, which would prohibit discourse about racism, sexism, white supremacy, and diversity in the classroom
Supporting the passage of HB 608 to ban the use of restraints during labor and ensure that nearly 2,400 people incarcerated in female prisons have access to perinatal care and menstrual products
Helping ensure that people in same-sex partnerships have the right to domestic violence protections
Securing a settlement that required the NC Department of Motor Vehicles to notify more than 200,000 drivers whose licenses were revoked because they could not afford fines or court fees about options for waivers or reduced fees
Halting unjust cash bail practices in Alamance County that penalized the county’s poorest residents by keeping them in jail for nonpayment, helping thousands of people continue their lives while awaiting trial 7
WHEN journalist Justin LaFrancois was livestreaming the June 2, 2020 protest against police brutality in Charlotte, he and the protesters soon found themselves trapped by lines of police with no way to escape the tear gas and pepper balls—a practice known as kettling. “At that moment, I thought we were going to die,” he recalls. He worked with the ACLU-NC as a plaintiff in the case against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, which led to new policies prohibiting the use of tear gas and requiring police to give protesters clear dispersal orders and a visible means of exit.
“It was comforting to know that there was a group out there ready to defend people like us,” he says. “And that’s what they do, day in and day out.”
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Photo: ACLU NC
TOGETHER WE MUST BE RELENTLESS
in our pursuit of justice for all. With your partnership, we will advance every area of our work.
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Photo: Colin Lloyd via Unsplash
Our team advocates in communities and at the NC General Assembly for policies that protect and expand civil liberties and civil rights in ways that will move us closer to racial justice and ensure bodily autonomy for all.
ADVOCACY LITIGATION & LEGAL SUPPORT
We protect time and resources for rapid response, so we can respond quickly to crises as they emerge.
CIVIL RIGHTS & CIVIL LIBERTIES RAPID RESPONSE COMMUNICATIONS
We use litigation to advance and defend important civil rights, hold our lawmakers accountable, and challenge unconstitutional policies and practices.
ASSISTANCE TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
We use our resources to support and uplift smaller organizations, especially those led by impacted people. We often serve as a fiscal sponsor, hold pass-through funds, and provide technical training and support.
STRENGTHENING FROM WITHIN
We invest in our own staff by building their career pathways, helping them grow, and giving them the tools they need to collaborate and achieve results. We prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion so that our organization reflects the people we serve.
We make connections, increase visibility, and inspire action by telling stories that amplify diverse voices and perspectives. We also counter reductive and harmful narratives.
FIELD MOBILIZATION
We strengthen the statewide movement for racial and social justice by forging partnerships with other directly impacted organizations and allies.
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Although the ACLU-NC’s litigation work is what often makes headlines, our people are on the front lines at the North Carolina General Assembly and in communities throughout the state to shape attitudes and policies in ways that protect the rights of all.
WHAT COMES NEXT, WITH YOUR HELP.
The ACLU of North Carolina has a clear strategy in place for where we want to go over the next few years. We will add 12 full-time staff members—raising our total from 23 to 35—to bring in additional expertise and perspectives that will expand and deepen our capacity. In addition to attracting the best people, we must invest in all of our staff by giving them even more of the professional development, technology, training, and other tools they need to keep fighting for real change.
WHEN YOU EMPOWER the ACLU of NC to invest more in our team, you will enable
Build our field program so that we can pivot quickly to mobilize more than 500 volunteer activists on critical civil liberties issues—with a focus on rapidly growing and politically important parts of the state.
Transform our communications department beyond promoting what we do to actively persuading North Carolinians on civil liberties issues and shaping opinions, thereby shifting the narrative about social norms.
Expand our policy team’s capacity to develop stronger relationships with elected officials and decision-makers throughout the state and engage the wider community in how public policy impacts their lives, even as they continue to advance legislative priorities and defend against problematic policies.
us to achieve six key outcomes:
Seek out and engage more people who reflect our state’s changing demographics, with a focus on bringing communities of color into the work of the ACLU.
Integrate our efforts in litigation, policy and advocacy, communications, and field organization so that they build off and complement each other—and develop tools to track outcomes and evaluate their success.
Invest in and support partner organizations in the community who often don’t have the resources we have but who are working on the same issues and making a meaningful difference in North Carolina.
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YOU WILL CREATE
a North Carolina with more legal protections, more progressive policies, and a shift in social norms—with greater public understanding of what’s at risk when people are denied their rights based on what they look like, what they have, or where they come from.
MORE TEAM MEMBERS = GREATER IMPACT
We will add staff in the following areas:
Policy and Advocacy
Engagement and Mobilization
Integrated Advocacy/Program Oversight
Communications
Development
Administration
Legal
“WHEN I worked with the ACLU of NC as a plaintiff, they made me feel cared about as a whole person. For the causes they are involved in, they are so intentional about finding people who are impacted to serve as plaintiffs and also be a part of their staff. It’s not just lip service—they value our lived experience.”
—Joaquín Carcaño of the Latino Commission on AIDS is a member of the ACLU-NC board and was a plaintiff in the case against HB2, which would have blocked local governments from protecting LGBTQ people against discrimination in employment and public accommodations.
Photo: ACLU
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THE FUTURE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPENDS ON YOU.
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Photo: Tito Texidor III via Unsplash
Right now, the ACLU of North Carolina has the potential to make our state a new model for the South. If we lead the way, we can prove that the South can be a beacon for freedom and fairness, pivoting away from the history of oppression that once defined us.
In recent years, you’ve seen how the Constitution is under constant threat. It will take all of us working together to preserve and strengthen it. While we cannot predict the outcome of future elections, we can build a strong foundation for civil liberties in North Carolina.
Our supporters—people just like you—have a fundamental sense of fairness. They reject the deficit mindset that perceives protecting others’ rights as somehow weakening their own. They know that civil rights are not an either-or proposition: Everyone rising lifts everyone else.
We are seeking major gifts of $25,000 and above to help us meet our goal. Your support will be fundamental to our success as we strive to do more and be more for the people of North Carolina. Half of your gift goes directly to our office, while the other half goes to the national ACLU, so that they in turn can support us in achieving our vision.
“This is a time of great urgency yet also great hope. We are seeing radical challenges to civil rights and civil liberties, and we do not have to go back too far in history to see what could happen next. But together, we can push back and stand in the gap between how things are and how we know they can be.”
–Chantal Stevens, Executive Director
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WAYS TO GIVE
The ACLU of North Carolina can work with you to structure your gift in a way that makes the most sense for you. Multiyear gifts are especially valuable because they allow us to plan farther into the future.
OPTIONS INCLUDE:
CASH GIFTS
RECURRING DONATIONS AND MULTI-YEAR PLEDGES
STOCKS, BONDS, AND MUTUAL FUNDS
DONOR-ADVISED FUND
GIFTS FROM YOUR IRA
PLANNED GIVING
TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFTS (501c3)
Allow for litigation and public education. Non-tax deductible gifts (501c4) support ACLU political advocacy and lobbying.
Photo: ACLU
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TO LEARN MORE
To discuss giving opportunities and how to make a gift that is most meaningful to you, please contact:
Liz Musselman Chief Development Officer
lmusselman@acluofnc.org
984.884.2828
The ACLU of North Carolina receives no government funding and does not charge clients for legal representation. Our work depends entirely on private donations, bequests, and court-awarded legal fees earned in successful cases. We are governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors.
OUR VALUES
• We stand against racist and oppressive systems.
• We purposely center dignity, respect, and compassion for all people—utilizing both holistic and integrated advocacy.
• We pursue radical transparency in service of accountability.
• We value and model equity, inclusivity, and grace.
• We strive for both internal and community sustainability.
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Photo: ACLU
P.O. Box 28004, Raleigh, NC 27611 | acluofnc.org
