CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Anthony Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, will travel to North Carolina on Saturday, February 28, to deliver the keynote address at the ACLU of North Carolina’s annual Frank Porter Graham Awards Dinner.

The statewide civil liberties organization, which is celebrating the 50^th anniversary of its founding in 1965, will honor several individuals with awards for their efforts toward advancing civil liberties in North Carolina. The event is sold out.

What: ACLU of North Carolina’s Frank Porter Graham Awards Dinner

RALEIGH – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of North Carolina is urging lawmakers to reject a bill that would allow magistrates and other government officials to opt out of providing marriage services to the public for six-month periods based on “sincerely held religious” objections.

SB 2 is scheduled for a committee hearing on Tuesday, February 24, at 10 a.m. in room 1124/1224 LB at the General Assembly in Raleigh.

“Religious freedom is one of our most valued liberties, but it should never be used as an excuse to deny government services to those who qualify simply because of who they love,” said Sarah Preston, policy director for the ACLU of North Carolina. “This bill is clearly designed to deny gay and lesbian couples their legal right to marry, but it would also make it harder for all North Carolina couples, especially those living in smaller counties, to access their right to be married under the law. We urge lawmakers to reject this bill and ensure that government services in North Carolina remain open to all on equal terms.”

The ACLU of North Carolina joins countless people from across our state and around the world this week in expressing sorrow over the tragic killing of students Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, in Chapel Hill on February 10.

While the details are still being investigated, several sources, including family members of the victims, have suggested that an underlying motivation in the killings was the three victims’ Muslim faith. That is why the ACLU of North Carolina is supporting Muslim Advocates and more than 150 civil rights, faith, community, and civic groups in urging U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to open a full and rigorous federal hate crime investigation.

“With hate crimes against Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim alarmingly on the rise in recent years, your leadership is crucial to help stem the tide of hate,” reads to letter to Holder. “…Federal leadership is necessary in this case in order to send the strongest message to the public that acts of violence like this have no place in civil society and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Come join a dynamic, thriving organization that has a 50-year history of successfully fighting for the rights of underserved, marginalized populations.  At no other time in our state’s history has this work been more vital!  The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF) seeks experienced applicants for the position of Director of Philanthropy to work out of our office in Raleigh.  The ACLU of North Carolina is the state affiliateof the national American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU-NCLF is our 501(c)(3) arm that conducts our legal and educational work.  Our mission is to preserve and expand the guarantees of individual liberty found in the U.S. Constitution, the North Carolina Constitution, and relevant federal and state civil rights laws.  These freedoms include: racial justice, voting rights, immigrants’ rights, criminal justice reform, women’s rights, reproductive justice, LGBT equality, free speech, religious liberty, the right to privacy, and much more.  Founded in 1965, the North Carolina affiliate is a rapidly growing organization. With the hiring of a Director of Philanthropy, the size of our staff will grow to nine fulltime employees, up from six a year ago.  We are looking for an experienced Director of Philanthropy with the vision to build a major gifts program fromthe ground up and help us develop a renewable revenue stream necessary to sustain and expand upon our amazing growth.

Position Overview

The ACLU-NCLF is seeking a Director of Philanthropy, a fulltime senior leadership position reporting to the Executive Director, to develop and implement a strategy for building new programs that raise funds for the ACLU-NCLF’s annual budget and that strengthen the relationships between the ACLU-NCLF and its supporters.  Working closely with the Executive Director, the Director of Philanthropy is responsible for planning, supervising and executing the organization’s major gifts and planned giving programs and developing complementary fundraising and donor cultivation strategies.  The Director of Philanthropy collaborates with the Executive Director, Development Committee, and the Board to reach ourannual and long-range goals.

Responsibilities

Major Gifts Program:  Develop and implement an annual comprehensive work plan that will include specific fundraising goals and targets for proposals, appeals and campaigns; identify, develop and implement strategies for the cultivation of major donors; identify new major donor prospects and strategically deploy the Executive Director and Board leadership to solicit gifts; create and carry out strategies to personally cultivate and solicit major donors.  In addition to supporting the solicitation of gifts made by others, the Director of Philanthropy will be expected to cultivate and work directly with existing and future donors.