Fighting for Civil Liberties
Since its inception, the HMH Foundation has supported numerous organizations that strive to ensure civil liberties remain uncontested and push back against censorship. Through funding and partnerships, we have joined forces with those on the frontlines defending First Amendment rights and rational sex and drug policies.
Programs & Projects
Below are some of the organizations we have supported — ones that tireless defend our Constitution and advance a society where drug policies are grounded in science. They help promote a sex-positive culture, ensuring unequivocal access to reproductive rights and sexual education. Together, we create progressive, positive social change.
AMerican Civil liberties union
First Amendment organization
Working to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
Foundation for individual rights in education
First Amendment organization
Defending and sustaining the individual rights of students and faculty members at America’s colleges and universities.
Free Press
First Amendment organization
Working to challenge powerful corporations, influence policymakers, and raise public awareness of issues such as Net Neutrality and affordable internet access for all.
People for the american way
First Amendment organization
Defending constitutional values under attack, including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.
Rainbow push coalition
First Amendment organization
A multi-racial, multi-issue, progressive, international membership organization fighting for social change.
Student Press law center
First Amendment organization
Working at the intersection of law, journalism and education to promote, support, and defend the rights of student journalists and their advisers at the high school and college levels.
Drug Policy alliance
Drug policy organizations
Working to advance policies and attitudes that best reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies.
Marijuana policy project
Drug policy organizations
Leading the effort in Washington, D.C. to pass federal medical marijuana legislation, as well as to replace marijuana prohibition with a system of sensible regulation and control.
Children of the night
Sex policy organizations
Providing intervention in the lives of children who are sexually exploited and vulnerable to, or involved in, prostitution and pornography.
Guttmacher institute
Sex policy organizations
A leading research and policy organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States and globally.
the kinsey institute
Sex policy organizations
Fostering and promoting a greater understanding of human sexuality and relationships through research, outreach, education, and historical preservation.
planned parenthood
Sex policy organizations
Delivering vital reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of people worldwide.
The First Amendment Lives On
“The First Amendment Lives On” pays homage to the in-depth conversational interviews Hef pioneered as the editor and publisher of Playboy Magazine.
In the book, Professor Stuart Brotman conducted in-depth conversations with eight of today’s most significant scholars and advocates of free speech. Brotman also drew upon the insights in Hef’s extensive journals, where he documented issues around freedom of speech and the press throughout his lifetime.
“The First Amendment Lives On: Conversations Commemorating Hugh M. Hefner’s Legacy of Enduring Free Speech and Free Press Values” is available for purchase.
Lenny Bruce Archives
The HMH Foundation provided a grant to Brandeis University to acquire and archive the Lenny Bruce Archives, and make it publicly available.
Lenny Bruce was a comedian, satirist, social commentator, and rule-breaker whose comedy routines led to several arrests on obscenity charges. His fight paved the way for critical changes in both the comedy landscape and everyday life.
The acquisition was featured in the Boston Globe. Christie Hefner spoke about the acquisition and restoration on the Kitchen Sisters podcast series, The Keepers.