The Shit Storm that is the NRA Today & How We Got Here

[AKDoug]

'Core constituency' says it all. That was my point. Trying to get the last dime from a shrinking demographic puts some short term money in the bank. It is not a long term strategy as the country becomes more urbanized. It is not a strategy when in the next decade, half the 18 year olds will be minorities. It is not a strategy when the leader appeals to the shrinking core but is seen as mildly unpleasant outside of the choir.

This. The NRA does NOT appeal to the younger generation. I supervised a Hunter Education class from our local high school (yes! we have hunter ed in our high school) while they shot their qualification scores at the range. I love the opportunity and the instructor gives me 15 minutes to give them my spiel. I take advantage of the time to explain to the kids where the money comes from for the range, how they can be effective proponents of firearms safety, foster hunting ethics, and how how they can be more active at joining organizations that defend our rights to own firearms. In this class there were 12 kids. 5 female, 7 males. Several of the kids were obviously not white, and a couple were possibly mixed in some way. Doesn't matter, they were all red blooded Americans doing American stuff. Until we figure out how to bring in these youth that aren't already from outdoorsy firearms families, we are sunk.

[BillSWPA]

One local school district here is hosting a “panel discussion” of gun violence. Of course all of the panelists are anti-gun activists while some very qualified local expertise has been excluded.

That is one small part of what we are up against.

If we are going to fight that, the NRA needs to do better with its social media than telling doctors to “stay in their lane” and succeeding at nothing other than turning an entire profession against us. I do not know who is studying the messaging or what they are saying, but my 12 year old daughter could do a better job than what I have seen from the NRA lately.



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[NEPAKevin]

If WLP had the concern for the NRA and its mission that he claims, as opposed to looking at it as his personal cash cow, when the numerous scandals became public, he would have implemented an exit strategy and installed a suitable successor to be the face of the NRA.
#NotOnePenny

[BN]

He's currently the only person with sufficient recognition to do the job. I don't see how we would sustain current fundraising levels or grow if Wayne were to retire today.

First, joshs, thanks for talking with us here.

WLP still being in charge of the NRA has caused fundraising to go down. How many people, just in this thread, have said no more money until Wayne is gone. I've donated in the past. I have the hat, the cheap pocket knife, etc. But, not one cent more until Wayne is gone.

[AKDoug]

As mentioned many times, there are plenty of members that are pissed and not giving to the NRA anymore. In my case, I'm so distrustful of the NRA that I'm no longer doing any fund raising for the NRA Foundation (Friends of NRA) even though that money is supposedly handled separately. Until WLP is gone and the entire organization goes through a thorough audit, I will not be donating to the NRA, nor fundraising for the Foundation. I raised $150,000 over the last 5 years. That's a drop in the bucket for an organization that size, but it doesn't take many people like me to make a dent.

For those interested, the NRA's 990 form is available at this link. https://www.documentcloud.org/docume...Gd48x9N2Rz9phY

One thing that tickled my curiosity is why the NRA has investments totaling over 3 million in Central America/the Caribbean ?

[BillSWPA]

As mentioned many times, there are plenty of members that are pissed and not giving to the NRA anymore. In my case, I'm so distrustful of the NRA that I'm no longer doing any fund raising for the NRA Foundation (Friends of NRA) even though that money is supposedly handled separately. Until WLP is gone and the entire organization goes through a thorough audit, I will not be donating to the NRA, nor fundraising for the Foundation. I raised $150,000 over the last 5 years. That's a drop in the bucket for an organization that size, but it doesn't take many people like me to make a dent.

For those interested, the NRA's 990 form is available at this link. https://www.documentcloud.org/docume...Gd48x9N2Rz9phY

One thing that tickled my curiosity is why the NRA has investments totaling over 3 million in Central America/the Caribbean ?

Although I would be curious about the details, the investments are not necessarily bad. A healthy nonprofit should have surplus funds saved. The general rule for any (profit or nonprofit) business is that at least 6 months of operating expenses should be saved, although some will always have more and some will always have less.

Keeping those funds n a bank account is not always the best idea. FDIC will only insure up to $250,000 in a bank account. If a higher interest rate is available, why not take advantage of it.

While the scrutiny is long overdue, we need to be careful not to be critical of things that are not necessarily wrong.

[AKDoug]

Although I would be curious about the details, the investments are not necessarily bad. A healthy nonprofit should have surplus funds saved. The general rule for any (profit or nonprofit) business is that at least 6 months of operating expenses should be saved, although some will always have more and some will always have less.

Keeping those funds n a bank account is not always the best idea. FDIC will only insure up to $250,000 in a bank account. If a higher interest rate is available, why not take advantage of it.

While the scrutiny is long overdue, we need to be careful not to be critical of things that are not necessarily wrong.

I understand this. I'd prefer it to be invested in the U.S., but whatever.

[GardoneVT]

I understand this. I'd prefer it to be invested in the U.S., but whatever.

Investing money -overseas or CONUS- is not prima facie evidence of wrongdoing. WLP spending six million dollars of NRA resources (among other expenses) on a mansion is a different story.

[AKDoug]

True. 1.3 million for a year of Ollie North is nuts as well.


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[cmoore]

A NYT article: Inside Wayne LaPierre’s Battle for the N.R.A.

It's a bit long, but worth a read if you are still following this saga...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other...nra/ar-BBY73We