(RepublicanNews.org) – Donations to the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) political action committee are sharply down, according to The Trace, a “nonprofit newsroom.” The group claims to be “the only newsroom dedicated to covering gun violence.”
The NRA defends the second amendment rights of American gun owners. Democrats and anti-gun-violence activists frequently target the organization, blaming it for crime sprees such as mass shootings at US schools.
According to The Trace, the NRA’s Political Victory Fund saw its donations drop more than 40 percent just before the midterm elections in 2022. The group says data from the Federal Election Commission indicate that less than 2 percent of NRA members donate to its political action fund.
It is not clear how that percentage of donors may compare to the donation rates of members of other issue organizations.
At least one former NRA board member is also worried about the drop in donations. Rocky Marshall says the dip is worrying at a time when the NRA might expect an increase in support considering the White House’s aggressive gun-control stance.
Nonprofit organizations such as the NRA often have separately incorporated entities, or funds, that are used for direct political action that would be illegal if paid for by the tax-deductible donations ordinary members give to the main nonprofit. This is standard practice in the nonprofit sector, and it is legal.
Marshall said the drop in revenue is not confined to the NRA’s political action fund, however. Membership dues have dropped by $60 million from 2017 to 2022, he noted, and total revenue dropped by $165 million between 2016 and 2017.
He said the NRA’s “declining financial position” has reduced its political power significantly at a time when he would have expected more support to the organization given the White House position on gun rights.
Some other former NRA board members are unhappy with the organization’s leadership under CEO Wayne LaPierre. Phil Journey said members are discouraged by scandal talk around the leader, such as accusations that he diverted charitable donations to his own personal use.
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