John,

The National Rifle Association is famous for spending big money to advocate for looser gun regulations and to boost gun-friendly politicians. But what you may not yet know is that the NRA is in the midst of a many year downward financial spiral.

It all began when the NRA poured tens of millions of dollars into the 2016 elections—breaking its own records for political spending, boosting Republican congressional candidates and President Trump’s outsider campaign. In all, the group’s outlays spiked by more than $100 million in 2016 to more than $419 million, putting it deep in the red. Things have only gotten worse for the NRA from there.

A financial audit obtained by CREW shows that the NRA is bleeding money as membership plummets.

Last year, the organization saw its worst fundraising totals in more than a decade, fueled by membership decline and stratospheric legal fees.

According to the audit, which was filed with the Secretary of State’s office in North Carolina, the NRA raised more than $213 million in 2022, with more than $83 million coming from dues-paying members.

The totals mark a 52% drop in overall revenue and a nearly 59% drop in membership dues since 2016, adjusting for inflation. A CREW analysis of NRA dues going back to 2004 could not find a single year where dues ever went below $100 million, in inflation-adjusted terms.

The NRA’s persistent legal battles are not helping matters. The audit shows a $12.4 million settlement payment, linked to a legal battle the NRA fought with its former PR firm. In all, the NRA spent nearly $43.8 million on administrative “legal, audit, and taxes.”

John, legal expenses went from less than 1% of the NRA’s overall spending in 2017, to about 20% in 2021 and 2022, while its revenue dropped by nearly 42% over the same period.

I’m proud to say CREW has a long history of fighting for accountability for the NRA. In 2020, we filed a complaint against the NRA with the Internal Revenue Service asking the agency to investigate whether the group violated its tax-exempt status by making payments for the private benefit of its Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre, and his family. Before that, we filed IRS and FEC complaints based on the NRA’s tens of millions of dollars in illegal, undisclosed political spending.

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Thanks,

Robert Maguire
Research Director
CREW