by With the lawsuit filed by the NRA against the NRA Foundation, there have been many questions regarding the Friends of NRA dinners. As most know, traditionally 50% of the monies raised stay within the state for state projects such as youth shooting, training and education, and other charitable projects. The other 50% would be sent to the NRA Foundation to support the NRA’s non-political activities such as youth programs, women’s programs, education, training, and competition. As of the February 1st, where that latter 50% goes will be changed. Instead of going to the NRA Foundation which has been slow walking grant requests among other things, it will go to new and existing NRA 501(c)3 affiliates. This includes the new NRA Patriots Fund that is being incorporated in West Virginia.
NRA EVP Doug Hamlin released a long statement on Wednesday regarding the details of this. The bottom line is that Friends dinners will continue as they should but the money will no longer be sent to the NRA Foundation which has been captured by the Old Guard aka Friends of Wayne.
The statement is below:
Dear All,
I write today to explain some changes that are being made to the Friends of NRA program. As you may know, the NRA Foundation has recently attempted to separate itself from the NRA and has slashed its support for NRA programs, including the NRA’s competitive shooting programs, educational programs, and law- enforcement programs. The NRA has filed a lawsuit to stop the Foundation from dishonoring the intent of the millions of Americans who contributed to the Foundation to support these and other NRA programs and to return the Foundation to its historical role. As a result of the Foundation’s actions, some details of the Friends of NRA program will be changing, but I want to assure you that the fundamental structure of the program will remain the same.
On December 30, the Foundation informed the NRA of its decision to end direct Foundation funding for the Friends of NRA program. As a result of that decision, the NRA was forced to lay off a number of valued and capable field representatives and staff. That was gut-wrenching. But make no mistake: the Friends of NRA program will continue stronger than ever, with some necessary changes.
One thing that will not change is the NRA’s commitment to donor intent. Supporters of Friends of NRA as well as all those who donate their hard-earned money to this association intend their contributions to be used to continue to preserve and promote the shooting sports and provide the highest-quality education and training programs. The NRA will never waver in honoring our donors’ intent to use their contributions as efficiently and effectively as we can.
What will change are some of the financial details. By law, all deductible contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations are within the discretion and control of the 501(c)(3), which is why it is so important for the 501(c)(3) to be a trustworthy and good-faith partner of the NRA. Beginning February 1, 2026, funds raised through the Friends of NRA program will be directed to the NRA’s other 501(c)(3) affiliates like the new NRA Patriot Fund or NRA Freedom Action Foundation. As before, these 501(c)(3) affiliates will reserve half of all net proceeds for grant distribution to qualified programs at the local level. They will use the remaining fifty percent to fund national NRA programs and operations. Your field representative will be in touch with you with more details soon.
We will be working together diligently to make this transition as straightforward as possible. Our priorities in this process are:
- Provide information about the NRA organizations and bank accounts
- Activate online sales portals
- Apply for gaming permits where necessary
- Acquire merchandise and develop fulfillment processes for events
This transition reflects our unwavering commitment to transparency, accountability, and the responsible stewardship of donor contributions. By strengthening the structure through which Friends of NRA funds are managed and distributed, we will ensure continued support for vital programs at both the state and national levels. We appreciate the continued trust and dedication of our volunteers and supporters as we work together to preserve freedom and the shooting sports for generations to come.
Please contact friends@nrahq.org with any questions. Thank you for your commitment to the NRA and in preserving freedom for future generations.
Doug Hamlin
EVP/CEO
National Rifle Association
That is good news!
Good. Somebody was thinknig along the same lines as I was, “stand up a replacement 501c3 and jettison the old.”
Next thing is Clawback… then once we’re back on an even keel get out of NY.
I’ve never attended one, but good.
Glad to hear of the changes happening so quickly. I hope the CRDF will be considered, too. They already have a structure that would be easy to set 50% aside for national cases & 50% aside for state cases. Or maybe even set those up based on federal circuits rather than only states – if a case reaches the level of appeal where the outcome will impact your state, the funds from your state could go to support it.
I hope the divisions that have been cut off and have a path to generating revenue start taking the need for them to actually get the revenue coming in seriously.
Well done!
Do you have a list of the ” NRA’s other 501(c)(3) affiliates “? Is this roster under development?
Thank you.
As far as I know it includes these:
NRA Freedom Action Fund which will fund 2A litigation and non-partisan voter registration
NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund which funds 2A litigation, 2A scholarship, and certain individual cases.
Special Contribution Fund (Whittington Center) which goes to operate the Whittington Center
I’m not sure about a small foundation called the American Firearms & Shooting Foundation. It gives out small scholarships and has the same address as the NRA.
The new foundation being set up in West Virginia is the NRA Patriots Fund which will be the new “bank account” for Friends of the NRA dinners starting February 1st.
Did anyone else besides Yuri Bezmenov and me notice the NRA’s youth art contest. All of the winners had Asian names. Struck me as very odd just on demographic grounds and the demography of NRA affiliated people makes it even stranger.
I didn’t. I had to go back and view the winners.
I can’t account for what so many of the winners had Asian names but I will say they are darn good artists.
Without regard to any race, that contest is going to be biased toward education communities with art teachers who realize it’s an amazing assignment to give students and then they can encourage them to enter the contest. Just like any contest run by organizations large and small – it’s based on which teachers are willing to share the opportunities more than anything. With this one, you need teachers who are willing to say, “I don’t care about the other stuff associated with NRA work, submitting an entry into their art contest about animals isn’t making a political statement.”
Essay contests done by another group I’m in are frequently won by homeschoolers not because they are inherently better, but because those communities share the opportunities and they are willing to issue those kinds of topics as assignments that are then submitted after grading. When I was growing up, a disproportionate number of winners of a regional contest were won by students of my town. Were we any better? Nope. We had a teacher who made the work for it an assignment and then she handed the contest entry forms out after she finished grading them. Those who wanted a chance at the prize money for an assignment you already finished could fill it out, turn it in, and she would mail in the entries. I would say she structured about 60% of her senior class work around scholarship essay opportunities. You don’t find many public school teachers like that anymore. I find that sometimes private school teachers are more willing to do it, but not a ton.
It was kind of like that in my high school. If there was a test or exam that could get you a scholarship, we took it. That is how I got to be a state semi-finalist in the Betty Crocker Family Living Scholarship program. A classmate’s older sister had won it and used it for a degree in microbiology.
The funny thing is that years later I’m a financial planner and I find out most of financial planning degree programs especially in the Mid-West are in the schools or departments of family science aka what used to be called “Home Ec”.
My English teacher was great at introducing small government ideas through these things. She made an extra credit assignment reading an Ayn Rand short story (thank goodness for small miracles in Anthem being relatively short) and essay that could be used for a contest. She encouraged me to do it separately even thought I had a high A because she thought I would like it. I did, even though I didn’t win the contest. Still, it was funny that the next big contest that was a main assignment was a DAR essay contest with a topic that year on public education. I might have written in favor of practically abolishing it in its current form because I was in a certain mood after Rand. 🤣 Yeah, I didn’t win that one either. But I did get an A.