ACLU Loses Quarter Of Annual Budget

The national ACLU organization has lost a quarter of its annual funding after a long-time anonymous donor withdrew his $20M yearly pledge due to financial difficulties.

Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the A.C.L.U., acknowledged in a written statement that a “family” had told the organization in September that it could not make its annual gifts, at least for next year. “This family, that has sought to protect its privacy by arranging its gifts anonymously, notified us last month that due to market conditions it will be unable to make its expected sizable donations of over $20 million,” Mr. Romero said.

A.C.L.U. board members, who insisted on anonymity because the loss of the gift was reported in an executive session of their meeting, identified the donor as David Gelbaum, who made a fortune as a hedge fund manager and is now better known as a major investor in clean technology. Mr. Romero said that donors like the Leon Levy Foundation, the Open Society Institute, Peter B. Lewis and John Sperling had stepped up with pledges totaling $23 million spread over the next three years. But unlike the annual Gelbaum gifts, the new money will have to be shared with state affiliates.

The ACLU says they are preparing to make staffing and budget cuts.