Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
For decades, the NRA and the NRA Foundation were about as closely linked as a rifle and its sling. Now they’re headed for what appears to be a very public divorce.
According to reporting from NewsMax and comments from NRA Board Member Anthony Colandro during a recent interview on Gun Owners Radio, the NRA Foundation is moving to separate itself from the National Rifle Association and rebrand as the “1791 Foundation,” setting the stage for a major battle over money, control, and the future of one of the gun-rights movement’s most recognizable institutions.
The split comes amid an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by the NRA earlier this year.
According to the NRA’s complaint, the Foundation has allegedly breached agreements, improperly distanced itself from the parent organization, and diverted assets that the NRA argues were intended to support NRA programs.
The lawsuit reportedly involves nearly $160 million in charitable assets.
Table of contents
Why Is This Happening?
That depends on who you ask.
Foundation leaders told The Wall Street Journal they want a fresh start and a broader charitable mission. Foundation President Tom King described the move as a chance to “refresh” and “restart” the organization.
The NRA sees things differently.
NRA CEO Doug Hamlin said the organization filed suit to protect a foundation that was originally established to support NRA-related programs.
Meanwhile, Foundation officials have fired back, calling the NRA’s legal action a “sham lawsuit” and accusing the organization of trying to gain access to charitable assets.
The Reformers Say the NRA Has Changed
One of the more interesting parts of this story comes from inside the NRA itself.
During the Gun Owners Radio interview (see video above), Colandro described an NRA dramatically different from the organization many members remember during the final years of the Wayne LaPierre era.
According to Colandro, reform-minded directors now control roughly 75 percent of the board and have largely ended the factional infighting that once dominated board meetings.
“The reformers won,” Colandro said. “Reformers are running the joint.”
He also praised Hamlin’s leadership, arguing the NRA is now more transparent, accessible, and financially stable than it was just a few years ago. According to Colandro, the organization finished 2025 in the black after years of financial turmoil.
Follow the Money
The biggest issue remains the Foundation’s assets.
Colandro argued many donors contributed money through Friends of NRA dinners and other fundraising efforts with the expectation that the funds would ultimately support NRA programs such as youth shooting sports, training, Eddie Eagle, and law enforcement initiatives.
His view was blunt.
“If I was a judge,” he said, “it looks black and white.”
Colandro also suggested there may be more behind the split than a simple disagreement over governance. He speculated that some Foundation leaders believed the NRA’s legal and financial troubles would ultimately force the organization to collapse, creating an opportunity for the Foundation to emerge as the dominant entity. According to Colandro, the NRA’s recent financial recovery and board reforms have made that scenario far less likely.
Foundation leaders, of course, strongly disagree. That’s why lawyers are getting paid.
What Happens Next?
The courts will ultimately decide who controls the Foundation’s future and whether the proposed “1791 Foundation” can fully separate from the NRA.
For gun owners, the outcome matters.
The NRA remains the largest and most recognizable Second Amendment organization in the country. The Foundation has historically funded many of the educational, training, and charitable programs that helped support that mission.
Whether this ends with a reconciliation, a permanent split, or years of litigation remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the NRA’s post-LaPierre rebuilding effort just got a lot more complicated.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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I let my annual membership run out a few years back. The reason was one man, Wayne LaPierre. I got fed up with the board constantly looking the other way with my dues while Wayne was bragging about his $35,000 suits. The NRA Board and President allowed Wayne and his crowd to rape the membership, IMHO.
The beginning of the end actually started a few years before when I called NRA to see if I could convert my remaining subscription balance to apply towards a Life Membership. It didn’t take long to realize that I wasn’t talking to NRA, but some hired-gun subscription peddler who couldn’t care less about what I wanted to do.
Who and what will this new “foundation” fund if NOT the NRA’s “educational, training and charitable programs?” I mean, those were the reasons why I contributed to begin with…..🤷🏽
The NRA is the reason I’ve gotten a light tighter with my money for charitable foundations and organizations. If they really want to be transparent, and impress me, that should make their books visible. I want to know how much of my donation goes to the cause versus fancy suits and expensive business trips.
Agreed! I left the organization after I got fed up with LaPierre’s shenanigan’s.
People who joined the NRA for “what’s in it for me” and magazines should never have joined. How are those magazines the GOA, SAF, and FPC put out? I thought so. The NRA is about training, gun and range safety, and marksmanship, among other things. The NRA-ILA is about protecting your gun rights. If you joined the NRA in order to protect your 2A rights, then you joined for the right reasons. WLP and his thieving cohorts have been punished by the courts and have repaid all of the money they stole. The NRA lost nothing except maybe disillusioned uneducated members. As a recruiter for the NRA I can tell you a lot of them are coming back and the dues for annuasl members are discounted to $35.00 per year.
Wrong Shodansan!!!!!!! I have been a member since 1962 and they do not give me any discount for keeping my subscript[pion like they used to do. My subscription has even expired and I have heard nothing from them except “pay me the money”. And do not bull crap us the NRA did not recover all of the money Wayne and his fellow Criminals stole. Its been estimated the NRA got only a fraction of their money back that was stolen. A lot of it that was stolen was not provable in court because it was covered up in a variety of ways. Lets face facts when you are paying a secretary $600,000 a year and paying her rent and living expenses to boot it only shows how much money never was recovered.
As I said before its not any accident that the subscription rates skyrocketed after the Wayne and his fellow Criminals grand theft was exposed and prosecuted.
quote————–He also praised Hamlin’s leadership, arguing the NRA is now more transparent, accessible, and financially stable than it was just a few years ago.———–quote
Obviously this statement is pure bull. I tend to agree that the NRA is desperate to raid the assets of the Charitable organization. The NRA has raised dues to an outrageous $45 a year and cut the magazine subscription to only 4 issues a year which is an insult to its members showing you how desperate they are to economize. I have been a member since 1962 and this was the last straw for me. I did not renew my membership and I am sure thousands of other disgusted members did not renew either. Wayne Lapierre stealing millions was bad enough but when you practically cancel printing the icon magazine of the organization “The American Rifleman” this is going way to far.
now ain’t you just a regular chatterbox this week, claude got itself an upgrade…..
lawyers and commie liberals are behind this! they have been trying to take down the nra for over a century.
You would not be able to identify what a real Communist or Liberal was even if they walked up and kicked you in the nuts, Its obvious you flunked World History and Political Science 101 assuming you ever even had either of the courses, which I highly doubt. By the way Genius neither is necessarily synonymous, I think even Jethro Bodine would understand that.
Try again Paul every statement you post only exposes your level of education.
you gotta be human b4 you can can profess to understand pinko’s!
What is to understand if you have even half a brain which you sadly lack altogether. Socialism gave us Social Security when 85% of retirees were living in poverty.
The Criminal greed monger Republicans have been trying to destroy Social Security and its programs ever since is was passed in 1933.
Recently the Criminal Republican Capitalvanians destroyed the Obama Care provisions which took away millions in drug coverage for working class people. I myself lost two eye medications one of which was free and the other which was $50 per month now its $225 a month and the other is now $800 a month. Multiply this by 330 million Americans and that is a ton of money now being stolen by the Republicans and given tax free to greedy corporations in the form of Corporate Subsidies ( Corporate Welfare).
And did I mention Trumps cancelling the Obama mandated tough anti-pollution laws which no longer exist and cancer rates have now soared while polluters laugh all the way to the bank. Of course the Corporations funnel some of this money right back into the pockets of the Greedy Republicans.
You can vote Democrat and get some of your tax money back in the form of drug coverage and social services or you can Vote for the Criminal Republicans and have all your tax money stolen and given to greedy corporations who in turn funnel some of this stolen loot back into the pockets of the Republican Gangster Criminals.
And greed rears its ugly head once again lol.
The NRA… brings in over $175 million, spends $116,000 on programs and almost $41 million on salaries (pg1 2024 form 990). Although part nine shows a more in-depth glance… Their executive salaries seem pretty insane. Just sayin…
i don’t agree with some of their stuff but i’m not going to leave a usable weapon on the ground in the fight for gun rights!
Dacian… never get into a battle of the wits with an unarmed person!
lets do some math here HOA owner and you seem to parrot my responses from earlier, so since i don’t live in a HOA that makes you even dumber! now go and suck dacians processor!
I like how little boys like you have keyboard balls. So I’ll tell you what there little boy… Run along and play and let the adults talk because you’re really starting to make me angry!
Some of the reasons for us choosing to live in an area with an HOA is so we don’t have to live around retards like you. Now go back to your trailer, wax your truck that’s worth more than your home and let the adults talk.