Civil Liberties Organizations

An attempt has been made to categorize some of the organizations dedicated to promoting privacy, speech, and other civil liberties for better organization, but many organizations will overlap multiple categories. Note the authors of this site do not necessarily endorse all of the beliefs and actions taken by the organizations below (though likely agree with the vast majority). We recommend checking the Charity Ratings Tools before making any donations. Many of the organizations have a number of helpful resources for those who wish to be more informed about civil liberties, so are worth visiting even if you have no interest or ability to donate.

Charity Rating Tools

Check these tools for any charities you are interested in to help ensure your contributions will be well spent. We also recommend pressuring your favorite charities to publish their financial information if they are not already doing so.

1. Charity Watch
• Independent charity watchdog that analyzes financials of many top charities
• Focuses on transparency and cost efficiency
2. Charity Navigator
• Useful for finding if charities meet some minimum criteria for accountability and finances, but it's rating system is not sufficiently discriminatory to be useful for choosing "good" charities from "bad" charities

Broad Civil Liberties Focus

1. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• Supports civil liberties primarily through the legal system, but also through dissemination of information and organizing
• Involved in many of the most significant lawsuits regarding civil liberties in the USA for the last 100 years
• Has branches for individual US States
• Provides pro-bono legal representation for cases of consequence for civil liberties
2. Institute for Justice (IJ)
• end widespread abuses of government power and secure the constitutional rights that allow all Americans to pursue their dreams
• Supports civil liberties primarily through the legal system, but also through dissemination of information and organizing
• Focuses on private property, first amendment, educational choice, and economic liberty
3. Cato Institute
• Think tank with goals to individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace
4. Brennan Center for Justice
• Think tank with goals to strengthen democracy, end mass incarceration, and protect liberty and security
• Conducts research on free speech and provides information to help free speech activists persuade others
• Based from New York University School of Law
5. Center for Constitutional Rights
• Use litigation, advocacy, and strategic communication to fight structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach

First Amendment Focus

1. Knight First Amendment Institute
• defend the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, policy advocacy, and public education
• Based out of Columbia University
2. First Amendment Museum
• inspire all Americans to practice, preserve, and protect the First Amendment to the US. Constitution
3. National Coalition Against Censorship
• promote freedom of thought and inquiry and oppose censorship
4. First Amendment Watch at New York University
• document threats to the First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition
• SLAPP database
5. Freedom Forum
• Educates on first amendment freedoms
• Funds some first amendment reporting
6. Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project
• Files legal briefs, publishes articles, and provides speeches regarding first amendment rights
• Based out of University of Florida

Free Speech Focused

1. Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)
• Supports general free speech rights through legal representation, commentary, and research
• Focus has historically been on free speech in academia
2. The Future of Free Speech
• reaffirm freedom of expression as the bedrock of free and thriving societies through actionable research, empowering tools, and principled advocacy
• Based at Vanderbilt University
3. Free Speech Center
• public policy center dedicated to building understanding of the five freedoms of the First Amendment through education, information and engagement
• Based at Middle Tennessee State University
4. American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom
• Educates librarians and the general public about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries
5. Index On Censorship
• Inform, influence, and debate regarding free expression
• Publish magazine on free speech topics from around the world

Press and Journalism Focused

1. Freedom of the Press Foundation (Onion Site)
• reporting on government secrecy, surveillance, and the rights of reporters and whistleblowers
• Open source projects to protect journalists and their sources such as SecureDrop and DangerZone
• U.S. Press Freedom Tracker[1] Onion Site
2. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP)
• Pro bono legal services organization for journalists and newsrooms in the U.S
3. Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
• Act for the freedom, pluralism and independence of journalism and defend those who embody these ideal
• World Press Freedom Index
• field interventions, advocacy, and major initiatives to change the course of international law
4. Project Censored
• promote critical media literacy, independent journalism, and democracy
5. Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project
• provides research, expertise and advocacy for journalists, policymakers and the general public in acquiring government information to foster an engaged and informed citizenry
6. Free Press
• Paraphrased research, advocacy, and activism for a more just media

Digital Liberty

1. Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF, Onion Site, Wiki Link)
• Focused on digital privacy and freedom of speech
• Develop tools to help the public protect privacy such as the Privacy Badger browser extension
2. Citizen Lab
• Research including: investigating digital espionage against civil society, documenting Internet filtering and other technologies and practices that impact freedom of expression online, analyzing privacy, security, and information controls of popular applications, and examining transparency and accountability mechanisms relevant to the relationship between corporations and state agencies regarding personal data and other surveillance activities
3. GUARDIAN PROJECT
• Build secure apps, open-source software libraries, and customized solutions that can be used around the world by any person or organization looking to protect their communications and data from unjust intrusion, interception and monitoring
4. Access Now
• defends and extends the digital rights of people and communities at risk
• Shares news and organizes activism surrounding digital rights

Human Rights

1. Human Rights WatchHRW
• Investigates and reports on human rights abuses throughout the world
2. Amnesty International
• research and organizing to fight human rights abuses
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr-ryan

Government Oversight

1. Project on Government OversightPOGO
• engage policymakers on efforts to reduce corruption and abuses of power in our government and to ensure leaders are protecting our rights
• Investigations, reports, and training

Other

1. Freedom House
• Provides ratings and analysis of the state of political and digital freedom by country
2. Democracy docket
• digital news platform dedicated to information, analysis and opinion about voting rights and elections in the courts
3. Public Participation Project
• Lobbies to pass anti-SLAPP legislation at the state and federal levels
4. Woodhull Freedom Foundation
• mission is to affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right