NRA Gained Ground With Dues, Contributions in 2018
The report “shows dues went from $128,209,303 in 2017 to $170,391,374 in 2018—an increase of $42,182,071, or 33 percent.”
As the mainstream media leads people to believe the NRA is about to collapse, Stephen Gutkowski at The Washington Free Beacon provides the truth.
It turns out the NRA gained ground in 2018 with membership dues and contributions.
I want to note that after a Google search, I only found Gutkowski’s report on the NRA.
Anyway, the rise in funds are not small either:
The report, which was handed out during the group’s latest annual meeting, shows dues went from $128,209,303 in 2017 to $170,391,374 in 2018—an increase of $42,182,071, or 33 percent. It also shows contributions rose from $132,879,299 in 2017 to $165,075,288 in 2018—an increase of $32,195,989 or 24 percent. The rise in dues came ahead of the NRA announcing it had reached 5.5 million members, a record number.
Overall, the NRA and its affiliates brought in $412,233,508 in 2018. That’s up from $378,122,489 in 2017. In total, the group’s revenue rose $34,111,019 or 9 percent. The numbers represent a clear resurgence of funding for the gun-rights group during 2018. Membership dues even topped those the group saw in 2016—$163,517,961.
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The annual report represents a broad view of the NRA’s efforts since it includes the combined financials of the six different groups of varying tax classifications that represent the full breadth of what constitutes the NRA’s activism and education efforts. The report includes the National Rifle Association of America, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit membership organization, and the NRA Political Victory Fund, a Political Action Committee. It also includes the four 501(c)(3) nonprofit groups affiliated with the NRA—the NRA Special Contribution Fund, NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund, NRA Freedom Action Foundation, and the NRA Foundation, Inc.
The report gives a more complete view of the organization’s health and activities than the reports compiled by the individual organizations that make up the NRA since the organizations lend money or pay bills to one another for various services. However, the report only gives a top-level view of the whole operation and does not break down revenues or expenses by organization where other reports like the National Rifle Association of America’s Form 990 or the NRA Political Victory Fund’s Form 3x provide more detailed disclosures.
When I saw Gutkowski’s headline, I immediately thought the 2018 elections and the upcoming 2020 elections have something to do with the NRA growth.
Gutkowski reached the same conclusions, especially since Democrats who ran and won in 2018 promised to put more restrictions on guns.
Despite bringing in more money, the NRA spent more in 2018 than it brought in. It spent $10,800,650, which is “up from the $1,104,581 the group ran in 2017.”
Unfortunately, the hatred towards the NRA has led to numerous lawsuits, which means an increase in costs:
The NRA’s total expenses rose from $379,227,070 in 2017 to $423,034,158 in 2018—an increase of $43,807,088 or 11 percent. Administrative costs rose from $44,134,375 in 2017 to $69,144,170 in 2018—an increase of $25,009,795 or 56 percent. Legislative program expenses rose from $41,720,095 in 2017 to $57,231,471 in 2018—an increase of $15,511,376 or 37 percent. Fundraising costs went up by $14,777,728 or 26 percent in 2018.
A further breakdown of “administrative” costs provided in the report shows that new legal fees made up the bulk of the increase. Those administrative legal fees rose from $4,616,535 in 2017 to $21,911,953 in 2018—an increase of $17,295,418 or 374 percent. Legal fees also grew beyond the administrative category, according to the report. Overall, the group’s spending on “legal, audit and taxes” increased by from $12,931,621 in 2017 to $33,502,387 in 2018—an increase of $20,570,766 or 159 percent.
The lawsuits also caused the NRA to cut spending. A few of my friends lost their jobs, but the most significant area is one that the Democrats should support: safety, education, and training.
The NRA cut that section by 23%, from $42,599,871 to $32,716,000.
While many believe the NRA only exists to protect our 2nd Amendment rights, it also exists to push and promote gun safety. Of course, the Democrats do not care about that. They have an agenda to appease their supporters.
Unfortunately for them, it looks like the NRA will not end anytime soon.
[Featured image via YouTube]
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Comments
If you think Wayne was a dapper dresser before, wait til next year.
The mailings and emails I get virtually daily from the NRA themselves would lead me to believe they are two steps away from being shut down.
That’s along with the wine club promotions and various contests and drawings.
I’m a life member, and see a lot of money spent on beg-a-thon mailings. It’s tiresome.
I gave up on them because they use a fake unsubscribe link on their endless spam.
I run my own email server, and I assign a unique email address to every entity I give an email. That way I know if they sell the address or if they are hacked and fail to admit the breach. In either case, I simply cancel that address, end of problem.
I signed up for NRA for 5 years, they have steadily bombarded me with an endless stream of new pitches for more money. I am retired and not going to give them any more money.
“lot of money spent on beg-a-thon mailings. It’s tiresome.’
****
I first joined the NRA in the 1950s and quit for good about 10 years ago after the constant barrage of NRA “stuff” in my mailbox became “tiresome”. Every time I think about re-joining, I remember my mailbox and take a pass. If they offered a membership option of no mailings, no e-mail, no text messages, I would re-up.
I heard at the gun club the other day that the NRA does have this option. Dunno for sure, but you might want to check into it.
They’re as bad as the televangelists who tell us the end times are upon us, but for a “commitment”, they can save us
for eternityuntil next week and the next appeal.I am another ex-NRA member. I gave up on them because they were – and are – too willing to compromise with the authoritarian left. Every compromise is a net loss for gun owners and supporters of the Second Amendment.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3667cc3dbe0149d7f608a67578d7fafe3ce377fd890084a7b2960beaa6b6b300.png
Lawfare is the primary and go-to tactic for the hardcore left now. Has been since MediaMatters started to grow. They don’t have to win on principles or ideas. They simply outspend you. Make it unbearable to “defy” them. Certainly they have been making many attorneys VERY wealthy with their decades long attack on Fox News, for example. And once they realized they couldn’t bleed the FNC coffers enough, they decided to go after the revenue sources – advertisers.
And when they can’t bankrupt or outspend, there are still some lawfare weapons they can deploy. Like making half of the people around you bankrupt just for associating with you (Flynn, Caputo, etc.). In the future most will fear personal destruction and decline to participate (hopefully, that is, in the progressives’ minds).
To CasualObserver: Lawfare is just further proof that we have the best justice money can buy, whether it’s civil or criminal matters.
The NRA is not replacable. Wayne La Pierre (or anyone else) is.
The NRA mail blizzard used to bug me too, and I let membership lapse. Then I started being more systematic about the whole thing, picked out a bunch of reasonably active orgs (NRA, GOA, GOAL, SAF, JPFO), send ’em my dues every year, and ignore the junk. A trash pail kept handy for all the garbage mailings means I don’t even have to carry that stuff very far. I don’t even look at any of it until my calendar says it’s close to renewal time.
SAF is more diabolical than NRA; it sends letters about donation-matching schemes which I actually used to read, but now I ignore all that stuff. Saves wear & tear on my reading glasses.
Until the NRA opens its books to Current and Former members I for one won’t renew! I’ve been burned before and refuse to be burned again!
I have been a life member for 45 years. I just sent them a $100 check. I know far too many gun owners who spend thousands each year on guns and ammo but give nothing beyond their dues to protecting their rights; and then complain loudly about the dues. Annual dues are enough to support social clubs, but are inadequate to support an organization like the NRA.
There are changes I would like to see in the NRA’s operations, but demanding that they be made before I will support my gun rights is as short sighted as not voting for Trump because he wasn’t the perfect conservative; I didn’t fall for that either. And while I support other groups (GOA, SAF, VCDL, etc), the fact is that the NRA is bigger than all of them combined and there is NO replacement for the NRA that will be available in time for the 2020 elections. I’m supporting my gun rights; the NRA is the best available way to do it. Just like voting Trump was the best available way to support conservativism.
They both must be effective – all the right people hate them.
Gun rights are shaping to big a big item for the dems to attack in 2020. If we let the dems divide us, they will win. And if the NRA loses, we lose our rights.