The National Rifle Association of America shrank significantly through the first eight months of 2021, according to detailed financial records obtained by The Reload.
The contraction came in membership, revenue, and program services across the organization. The group’s income missed the mark against its own budget projections and against what it brought in over the same period in 2020. At the same time, spending on legal services exceeded both. Legal fees ballooned more than $6.5 million from 2020 to a total of $31.1 million or about 20 percent of the group’s expenses.
The amount spent on lawyers was more than ten times the amount the NRA spent on programs aimed at education and training, competitive shooting, law enforcement, community engagement, the NRA Range, NRA Firearms Museum, and school security combined. Legal fees were the second largest expense for the organization behind costs associated with getting and keeping members.
The gun-rights group’s membership fell to its lowest point since 2017. Its revenue dropped to $165.2 million—missing its own projections by $19.4 million. That brings revenue to nearly half what it was in 2018, thanks mostly to a drop in membership dues. Spending is down even further: In 2018, the group spent more than it brought in, but it has paid down $14 million of its debt and run a slight surplus through August 2021.