Search Nonprofits

Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy

Our vision is of a world in which every person – regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity – enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other internationally recognized human rights standards. The UDHR states that the "the recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights" of all people is "the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world."

The ACLU Foundation of Southern California's (ACLU SoCal) mission is to ensure that all persons are afforded the equality, liberty, and justice guaranteed to them in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Through our integrated approach of community education, advocacy, and litigation, we challenge unconstitutional and unjust policies and practices. We most often serve those whose rights are consistently denied or compromised including students, women, prisoners, immigrants, communities of color, LGBTQ people, members of minority religions, people with disabilities, individuals experiencing homelessness, and economically disadvantaged people. With offices in Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire, ACLU SoCal has been serving Southern California since 1923.

Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality. SPLC fights hate by monitoring hate groups and other extremists throughout the United States, exposing their activities to the public, the media and law enforcement. We work with educators, schools, students, and communities through our Learning for Justice initiative to reach our goal of justice for all. Our Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, Alabama to honor the martyrs of the civil rights movement and to inspire visitors to continue to march for racial equity and social justice.

The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) litigates on behalf of death row prisoners, juveniles, people wrongly convicted or charged with violent crimes, poor people denied effective legal representation, and others whose trials are marked by racial bias or prosecutorial misconduct. EJI is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.

The TEP Foundation provides a variety of educational and organizing programming.

charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. We inspire giving and empower others to fundraise for sustainable water solutions. We use local partners on the ground to build and implement the projects. Then, we prove every single project funded, using GPS coordinates, photos and stories from the field. We have funded 91, 414 water projects, aimed to serve 14, 762, 215 people in 29 countries. We believe that sustainable work is locally-led. Along with implementing community-owned water projects, our local partners help facilitate comprehensive water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programming to protect everyone’s long-term health.

One Iowa is a statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) organization preserving and advancing equality for LGBTQ individuals through grassroots efforts, advocacy, and education.

Dedicated to exonerating innocent people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent wrongful convictions. The Innocent Project works to exonerate the innocent who have been wrongfully convicted, improve case law through targeted legal work, reform to prevent wrongful conviction, support exonerees as they rebuild their lives post-release, research and educate on legal and policy work, and build through alliances with other organizations.

The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) young people. The organization works to save young lives by providing support through free and confidential suicide prevention and crisis intervention programs on platforms where young people spend their time: a 24/7 phone lifeline, chat, and text. The organization also runs TrevorSpace, the world’s largest safe space social networking site for LGBTQ youth, and operates innovative education, research, and advocacy programs.