In America, despite the Constitution guaranteeing equal social opportunities and protections under the law, many people are denied these rights based on their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and socio-economic status.
Civil rights organizations are central to our democracy. They fight against discrimination and injustices, uplift marginalized populations, and promote fair and equal treatment for all. That’s why it’s essential to support the advocacy groups that fight for everyone’s civil liberties and rights—whether it’s voting in the next election or being able to practice religion freely.
Here are 13 civil rights nonprofits that you can support today.
13 Nonprofit Organizations that Support Civil Rights
1. Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is a civil rights organization that uses education, litigation, and other forms of activism to advocate for the most vulnerable in society, including children, domestic violence victims, the disabled, immigrants, and incarcerated people.
The SPLC is responsible for the following:
- The Intelligence Project, which tracks and exposes the activities of hate groups
- The Teaching Tolerance program, which produces and provides free anti-bias books, lesson plans, and other materials to schools nationwide
- The construction and maintenance of the Civil Rights Memorial and Center in Montgomery, Alabama (located in the “birthplace” of the modern civil rights movement)
Shop with Giving Assistant and donate your cash back to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
2. Leadership Conference Education Fund
The Leadership Conference Education Fund builds public will for federal and state policies that promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. The Education Fund’s campaigns empower and mobilize advocates around the country to push for progressive change in the United States. It was founded in 1969 as the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
This nonprofit helps protect vulnerable citizens through public education campaigns that promote civil and human rights for all. Many of their campaigns focus on:
- Criminal justice reform
- Immigration rights
- Economic security
- Voting rights
Sign up to shop and donate your free cash back to the Leadership Conference Education Fund.
3. Equal Justice Initiative
The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, the widely acclaimed public interest lawyer who wrote about his experiences in Montgomery, Alabama, in the bestseller Just Mercy. The EJI is “committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States,” striving to stop the disproportionate imprisonment and sentencing of Black people and people of color.
The EJI provides legal representation to people from impoverished communities who have received unequal treatment in the justice system, those who have been:
- Unjustifiably incarcerated
- Illegally convicted
- Unfairly sentenced, or
- Abused in state jails and prisons.
Consider donating your free cash back to the Equal Justice Initiative when shopping online.
4. American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nationally renowned nonprofit with a vibrant, storied history and a decades-long record of historic court and social wins for marginalized Americans and minority groups located in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Established in 1920, the ACLU takes on the most challenging civil liberties cases and issues to “defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.”
The ACLU fights on behalf of millions of people, whether it’s to:
- End mass incarceration
- Achieve full equality for LGBTQ+ people
- Preserve the right to vote
- Protect the right to have an abortion
Shop with Giving Assistant and donate your cash back to the American Civil Liberties Union.
5. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) is a nonprofit organization and law firm dedicated to fighting racial injustice that operates independently from the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).
The LDF was founded in 1940 by Thurgood Marshall, the first African American justice of the Supreme Court. It has since become a distinguished organization with a series of historic wins that protect the rights of Black people and people of color in America.
The organization continues to defend these wins and protections, plus “works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments.” LDF also provides legal counsel for racial discrimination victims, fights voter suppression bills, and is committed to “holding law enforcement accountable for brutality and misconduct.”
Shop and donate your cash back to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
6. Black Voters Matter (BVM) Capacity Building Institute
The Black Voters Matter (BVM) Capacity Building Institute is a nonprofit organization with a goal “to increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities” through increased voter registration and turnout and advocating for policies that expand voting rights and access.
BVM supports actions that ensure all Black Americans get an equal opportunity to vote in all elections, with all the same resources, information, and empowerment afforded to other communities, which includes:
- Expanded early voting
- Voter I.D. resistance
- Re-entry restoration of rights
- Strengthening the Voting Rights Act
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, BVM established the Mutual Aid and Emergency Relief Self-Determination Fund, founded on concepts of “solidarity, not charity,” to provide financial support to community-based efforts in the states it serves. The Fund has provided emergency relief to disadvantaged populations (such as Black immigrant communities and the families of the incarcerated) and helped establish food delivery and mobile grocery programs.
Shop with Giving Assistant and donate your cash back to the BVM Capacity Building Institute.
7. National Urban League
The National Urban League (NUL) is a historic community-based civil rights organization with 90 affiliates serving 300 communities that advocate against racial discrimination in the U.S.
Founded in 1910, the NUL fights for economic and social justice for Black Americans in underserved communities to protect their rights to receive equal access to healthcare, employment, voting resources, housing, quality education, and a fair legal system.
The League is “empowering communities and changing lives” through the following:
- Entrepreneurship Centers, which enable minority entrepreneurs who are running their businesses to thrive as sole proprietors
- Signature workforce programs, like the Urban Reentry Jobs Program for formerly incarcerated adults, provide hands-on job training and support to minorities
- The Restore Our Homes program helps uplift minority communities affected by subprime loans and foreclosures
Consider donating your cash back to the National Urban League when shopping online.
8. Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is an international Jewish organization that strives to “stop the defamation of the Jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment for all.” Founded in 1913, the ADL has since played a pivotal role in criminal justice reform and hate crime legislation and tirelessly fights for religious freedom, humanitarian immigration policies, voting rights, free speech, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and more.
The ADL also offers anti-bias training and educational programs to fight hate, bias, and discrimination online, in schools, and across communities through resources such as:
- No Place for Hate for school communities
- Becoming an Ally (and CyberALLY) bullying and cyberbullying programs
- Echoes & Reflections classroom-ready Holocaust education resources
Shop with Giving Assistant and donate your cash back to the Anti-Defamation League.
9. Muslim Advocates
Muslim Advocates is a Washington, D.C.-based national civil rights organization that educates, advocates, and provides expert representation to American Muslims (and all people) to receive equal treatment under the law and live free from hate and discrimination.
The Muslim Advocates was founded after the passage of the Patriot Act (when widespread surveillance and discrimination were at an all-time high) and has been fighting to “halt bigotry in its tracks” ever since. Some of the organization’s acts for change include:
- Leading the legal resistance against the Muslim travel ban; pushing for the No Ban Act
- Fighting against unjust surveillance and law enforcement bias
- Tracking and responding to mosque attacks; seeking justice for victims of hate crimes
- Upholding every person’s constitutional right to practice their faith freely (even in prisons)
- Fighting for the removal of hateful anti-Muslim content on social media platforms
Sign up to shop and donate your cash back to Muslim Advocates through Giving Assistant.
10. Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta is the “first and only nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in Georgia and the Southeast.” Founded in 2010 as the Asian American Legal Advocacy Center, the organization has since become part of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation (2014), tailoring its programs to promote equity, fair treatment, and independence through the following:
- Policy advocacy
- Organizing and civic engagement
- Civil rights litigation
- Legal services
Advancing Justice-Atlanta also fights for immigrant justice and, in 2019, launched the Georgia Immigrant Rights Alliance, the first state-wide, immigrant-led coalition for policy change.
Shop with Giving Assistant and donate cash back to Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta.
11. Native American Rights Fund
The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) is a nonprofit organization that provides specialized legal assistance to Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide. NARF has a rich history of activism which has led to thousands of treaties, acts of Congress, and court decisions that acknowledge the rights of American Indian and Native Alaskan tribes and peoples.
The Native American Rights Fund has been instrumental in:
- Protecting tribal natural resources
- Protecting the voting rights of Native Americans
- Fighting for federal recognition to preserve tribal existence
- Upholding Native American religious freedom
- Public education about Indian rights, laws, and issues
Shop and donate your cash back to the Native American Rights Fund with Giving Assistant.
12. National Center for Civil and Human Rights
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is a human rights organization and museum in downtown Atlanta that “believes in justice and dignity for all.” It celebrates the achievements of the civil rights movement in the US and pays homage to human rights movements worldwide.
The museum houses historical documents and artifacts (such as papers and writings from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) plus hosts interactive activities and ongoing programming for everyone.
The organization also works with government offices, companies, and nonprofits to:
- Help turn workplaces into diverse, inclusive environments for employees
- Coordinate interfaith educational programs addressing white supremacy
- Offer online civil and human rights training for law enforcement personnel
Shop with Giving Assistant and donate your cash back to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
13. Unidos US
Unidos US, formerly known as the National Council of La Raza, is the nation’s largest Latino nonprofit advocacy organization. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Unidos has regional offices and a network of nearly 300 community-based affiliate organizations across the country.
The nonprofit fights for state and national public policy changes and legislation regarding:
- Latino workers’ education and skills gaps
- Workforce equality and the economy
- Housing and employment discrimination
- Immigration reform and reduced deportations
- A pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
Consider donating your cash back to Unidos US when you shop with Giving Assistant.
Support Civil Rights with Charitable Shopping
You can support your favorite civil rights organizations every time you shop online by earning cash back with Giving Assistant that you can pay forward to help fund vital programs. Download our free browser extension, the Giving Assistant Button, to automatically save money with the latest coupons, earn cash back, and support nonprofits fighting for civil and human rights. Every little donation can add up.
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