by As has been reported by multiple sources, there will be organization changes happening to the NRA. A press release went out yesterday at 3pm Eastern which I will reprint below. I would have put it up earlier but I had three back-to-back Zoom/Teams yesterday evening. The last one of the evening was a NRA Board of Directors’ Town Hall meeting that was directors only. That is, no staff of any sort from EVP Doug Hamlin down to the janitor were on that call.
The gist of our town hall was to explain the organizational changes, review the 2026 budget, and to answer many, many questions. While it was never explicitly stated that we were in executive session I am going to assume we were. Thus, my comments on it are going to be general and top-level without going into the nitty-gritty details.
First, attendance was very good. I counted 60 board member attending including all three of the newest members.
Second, the presenters were all three of the officers plus Jonathan Goldstein who is chair of the Finance Committee.
Third, the NRA will end 2025 in the black for the first time in a long time. Going forward in 2026, budgeting with be a zero based budgeting approach. Automatic increases to budgets are a thing of the past. Each component of the NRA will need to justify their budget from scratch.
Fourth, for too long the NRA has existed organizationally as a collection of silos. I remember my friend Apryl Marie was told when she asked questions that she should stay in her silo. What one silo did was apart from what another silo did. Thus, education and training was separate from membership and so on. The reorganization is going to break down many of these walls. For example, advancement, marketing, and membership will have their walls broken down and will be one organic unit instead of three.
Fifth, the “Trump Slump” is real. It is not only impacting the firearms industry but the NRA as well. The number of guns sold annually is a good proxy to determine what the NRA’s revenues will be year to year. In 2020, over 20 million firearms were sold. In 2025, the estimates are that it will be approximately 13.5 million and the industry is banking on a flat year for 2026.
Sixth, the one NRA area that has been virtually untouched in the past has been publications aka NRA Media. When you see longtime outdoor and firearms media such as American Handgunner, Outdoor Life, Guns, and Field & Stream going digital, you know a new reality is here. Just as changes are happening within the firearms and outdoor media world, so too must the NRA change to accommodate this new reality. Thus, the print magazines will be reduced to the American Hunter and American Rifleman with the remainder going to a news-based web site. Moreover, the American Hunter and American Rifleman will become quarterly magazines in print and monthly digital magazines for the rest of the time.
Seventh, there are going to be furloughs. That is taking place today. Who is being furloughed, I don’t know. I do know I have many longtime friends in the publications division and I have my fingers crossed for them. All industries have ups and downs. Layoffs and furloughs are unfortunately a fact of life during reorganizations and restructurings. It sucks but it needs to be done for the overall health of the organization. If our revenues improve, some of those furloughed will be brought back.
Eighth, normally our committee meetings prior to the three board meetings take place over three days. That will be cut to two and all committees are being urged to do as much in advance as possible using online meetings. In person meetings are not cheap. Even reducing one day could save upwards of $25,000 or more by my wild guesstimate.
Finally, training, hunter education, and Second Amendment advocacy (NRA-ILA) will not be downsized and will instead be emphasized.
More will be coming out as we go forward.
Below is the full press released from yesterday:
NRA Announces Restructuring, Prepares for Future Battles for Gun Rights
FAIRFAX, VA- Today, the NRA is announcing organizational restructuring. These changes are
aimed at maximizing member dollars, streamlining operations, and investing in critical programs
that best serve NRA members and ensure the long-term strength of the organization.
“It’s our duty to ensure the long-term strength of the Second Amendment and health of our
critical organization,” said Doug Hamlin, Executive Vice President and CEO of the NRA.
“The NRA has delivered on its promise to provide a pro-gun President, Congress, and Supreme
Court for our members. These successes have not gone unnoticed by our adversaries, who are
doubling down on election spending, lawfare, and new programs to push their radical gun-
grabbing agenda. To ensure we are prepared for the fights ahead, we must create a leaner NRA
that focuses on stretching every member dollar to best protect your right to keep and bear
arms.”
Restructuring will occur within NRA Media (formerly NRA Publications), which has avoided
substantial cuts similar to those impacting a large segment of the print media market. In the past
15 years, major publications have foregone print altogether and moved to digital-only models,
yet the NRA currently releases four print publications, 12 months of the year. These publications
will be consolidated into our two legacy brands, American Rifleman and American Hunter,
which will move to a monthly, enhanced, premium digital magazine, accompanied by print
versions released quarterly.
“The NRA is listening and anticipating our members’ needs,” said NRA President Bill
Bachenberg. “NRA 2.0 is re-focusing on its core missions of protecting our God-given Second
Amendment rights, gun safety and training, supporting our Clubs & Associations and shooting
competitions. We are flattening the organizational structure, redeploying staff, and exploiting
technology to better manage the day-to-day activities of the Association. By knocking down the
current vertical silos and creating cross-functional teams, there will be less duplication, stronger
member services, and better communications.”
To increase efficiency and remove redundancies, the NRA will also merge its Membership,
Marketing and Advancement Divisions into a single department. This will streamline operations
and enable the NRA to implement new, data-driven techniques to increase revenue.
NRA-ILA and General Operations are not affected by today’s announcement. The NRA is
increasing its investments in its core missions of promoting and training the safe and lawful use
of firearms as it fights for the Second Amendment rights of Americans in courthouses and state
houses across the country, and in Washington, D.C.
These necessary changes will, unfortunately, impact staff. The NRA’s leadership did not make
these decisions lightly but must realign resources to ensure America’s largest and oldest gun
rights organization remains strong and ready to address the fight ahead
