Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
The National Rifle Association has taken the extraordinary step of suing the NRA Foundation, accusing the organization it created to support gun safety and education programs of acting in bad faith, misleading donors, and freezing millions of dollars meant to fund core NRA initiatives.
Filed in Virginia, National Rifle Association of America v. The NRA Foundation alleges that the Foundation’s current leadership (largely made up of former NRA directors aligned with prior leadership) has deliberately severed its historic financial support for the NRA while continuing to trade on the NRA name, trademarks, and reputation.
At the center of the dispute is money and control.
According to the complaint, the NRA Foundation was established in 1990 for a single purpose: to raise tax-deductible donations using the NRA’s name and goodwill, then funnel those funds back into NRA charitable and educational programs. Those programs include the NRA National Firearms Museum, Eddie Eagle GunSafe, youth training initiatives, and public-facing safety education relied upon by schools, law enforcement, and community groups nationwide.
For more than three decades, that arrangement functioned as intended. Until now.
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Millions Raised for NRA Programs Now Withheld
The lawsuit alleges that despite holding more than $160 million in assets, the Foundation has refused to approve any grant funding for the NRA for 2026, breaking with decades of precedent and effectively cutting off the organization’s educational and charitable operations.
The NRA claims this decision was not based on financial necessity, donor intent, or program performance. But was instead a calculated move by Foundation leadership to pressure and punish the reformed NRA after members voted out prior leadership and installed a new board committed to transparency and reform.
In plain terms: the NRA says the Foundation is sitting on donor money raised for NRA programs and refusing to release it.
Donor Confusion Is Central to the Case
One of the most serious allegations in the complaint is that the Foundation continues to solicit donations using the NRA name and branding in a way that leads donors to believe they are supporting the NRA itself. When, according to the lawsuit, the Foundation has no intention of passing those funds along.
The NRA argues this violates both donor intent and trademark law.
Donors attending Friends of NRA events, the complaint states, reasonably believe their contributions will support NRA-run gun safety, training, and education programs. The lawsuit alleges that Foundation leadership knows this. And is exploiting that belief while simultaneously starving those same programs of funding.
Intellectual Property and Control at Stake
The lawsuit also seeks a court ruling affirming that the NRA (not the Foundation) owns the NRA trademarks, branding, and intellectual property the Foundation relies on to raise money.
According to the complaint, those assets exist solely to benefit the NRA and its mission. The NRA alleges the Foundation is improperly using those marks while attempting to operate independently and redirect control away from the organization that created it.
The NRA is asking the court to:
- Block the Foundation from using NRA trademarks without authorization
- Prevent the misappropriation of donor funds raised for NRA programs
- Stop the Foundation from unilaterally breaking its long-standing affiliate relationship
A Break Fueled by Old Guard Politics
The filing makes clear this is not just a legal dispute. But a power struggle rooted in the NRA’s internal reform movement.
According to the complaint, many Foundation trustees were allied with prior NRA leadership (Wayne LaPierre) and opposed recent member-driven changes. When those efforts failed at the ballot box, the lawsuit alleges, Foundation leadership shifted tactics. Using financial leverage to retain influence over the NRA’s future.
SEE ALSO: A Gun Guide for Beginners
NRA CEO Doug Hamlin called the lawsuit a “last resort,” saying the Foundation’s actions place vital public-facing programs at risk and directly conflict with donor expectations.
What Happens Next
This case now puts a spotlight on one of the most sensitive issues in the firearms advocacy world: who controls donor money raised in the NRA’s name, and whether a charitable foundation can withhold support from the organization it was created to serve.
If the NRA prevails, the ruling could reshape how affiliated nonprofits operate and how donor intent is enforced across the gun-rights landscape.
If not, the NRA faces the prospect of rebuilding its education and safety programs without access to funds raised explicitly for that purpose.
Either way, this lawsuit signals that the NRA’s internal reckoning is far from over. And that the battle lines are now firmly drawn in court.
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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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Wayne LaPierre needs to be expunged from this organization. He exposed the NRA to lawsuits from the left with his extravagance. Unethical and unhelpful whether they were legal or not.
LaPierre’s been out of the organization for several years.
Year, as in singular
My apologies, my mistake… Two years
I (an NRA lifer) tend to trust Hamlin more than LaPierre. I think that’s true for most of us.
Wayne F’n LaPierre… The gift that keeps on grifting.
It appears that the “Old Guard” that was sucking too much $$$ out of the NRA and mismanaging it’s future, is now operating like a democrat Junta. WTF???
It’s kind of ironic that the anti-gun faction couldn’t cripple the NRA but Lapierre and his established minions are getting it done. Why is he not being prosecuted ?
He was prosecuted by AG Letitia James of NY and the Judge found him guilty of fraud. He was ordered personally to repay the NRA over $4 million along with a slew of cohorts for even more $. The money has been repaid, so I suspect WLP is now broke, lost his pension, and living in somewhat poverty compared to his previous lavish existence. The NRA is not crippled, far from it as the foundation’s money only supports a few specific programs within the NRA umbrella. When rogue directors of the foundation try to punish the NRA for their own malfeasance, then going to the courts is the only option. I can only hope that the foundation’s directors insurance refuses to pay their legal fees and makes them suffer financially personally like WLP.
To the idea that the NRA membership powers think we all want more emails on PC or phones, I concur it is BS. I don’t like any of my bills, etc. on line. This includes NRA magazines. My wife and I are both Benefactor Life members of NRA. I have also given 8 gift subscriptions each year. I am wondering if we will no longer get daily mail, asking for money. If they want to put magazines online, put all the mailings on email too. That way I can delete them along with the rest of my spam.
The NRA is a non-profit 501(c)3 that relies solely on selling memberships and asking for tax deductible donations. All memberships are not renewed automatically, meaning your bank account or credit card are not charged without your permission. If the organization did not constantly solicit new or renewal memberships it would no longer exist. I presume you and your wife are such avid supporters like many others is because you are gun owners and like to shoot or to be able to defend yourself. Without the constant solicitation of memberships the NRA would have disappeared long ago and so would your right to bear arms despite the 2A in the US Constitution. The UK, Australia, and Mexico, to name a few, all have 2A’s in their respective Constitutions. Look it up. Like you and your wife, I and my ex Marine Corp. wife too are avid supporters of the NRA ,not only having the highest of life memberships, and Golden Eagle membership. I personally give my time and money as a volunteer and as a Frontlines Activist Leader (Grassroots) representing the NRA at Gun shows across my state, visiting and lobbying politicians at the State Capitol, attending 2A Days at multiple gun shops across the state, and various other shows and meetings as needed, way to many to list here. As for the restructuring of the magazines it is far too long overdue. Publishing and printing 4 different magazines every month of every year is ridiculously expensive with no control over postage, let alone printing costs. Just about every other magazine out there has gone online years ago. If it were up to me, and it’s not, I would reduce the magazine to just one per month online only. Right now you get a choice of two editions, American Rifleman and/or American Hunter, 4 printed magazines quarterly per year, and 8 digital editions. The reason I support the NRA is because I want to keep my right to bear arms, not because of magazines or any other stuff. The magazines help keep me informed and knowledgeable about the whole subject, something sadly lacking in most gun owners I meet in my travels. The NRA keeps me informed about the whole country, not just the few cases GOA or SAF are chasing in various states. The NRA is spending over $5 million in California alone this year with over 50 active suits across the nation. We have Constitutional Carry in 29 states thanks to the NRA with North Carolina perhaps making it 30 sometime this year. In Trump’s inauguration speech he thanked the NRA, not GOA, not SAF, not CCRKBA, or any of the other alphabet soup. The NRA! If you want to make a difference get out of the Lay-Z-Boy and volunteer for the NRA-ILA grassroots program and get involved on the ground where the fight needs to happen. Get gun owners registered to vote and make sure they vote. There is so much all of us can do and all it takes it a little bit of your time.
When they fired Chris Cox, they lost my support. They are a fund raising organization so they don’t have to get real jobs. When Charles Heston left, so did the NRA
can’t we all just get along?
With the whole country stinking of fraud nowadays it makes you think something some fuckery is about.
A sad situation. Just when we hoped the NRA was getting its act together, there’s more dysfunction and corruption over money.
I lost all trust in the NRA years ago sad state of affairs. Greed and corruption seem to be the norm in today’s world.
I contacted the NRA subscription service center to cancel my membership and request a refund for the three years remaining on my membership for this very reason. My membership included 12 hard copy magazines per year. Not 4. I was informed that, according to the bylaws, I must submit a written cancellation request and that no membership refunds are permitted. What BS! I imediatly became a member of GOA.
If you only joined the NRA to get magazines then you joined for all the wrong reasons. BTW I’ve yet to see a 4 color printed magazine from GOA on a monthly basis to rival those of the NRA. Good luck with GOA. Oh, and GOA and NRA are now regularly working together filing Amicus Briefs on each other’s cases. All the others like SAF are also working with the NRA. They decided instead of filing competing law suits on the same cause it was better to not waste resources and file in support of each other. After all they all want the same thing in the end, and it’s not free magazines.
Is it possible for NRA members that gave to the foundation specifically for the NRA to request their money back due to the fact to is not being used as said?
I also got a letter telling me the cheapskates are only going to publish the “American Rifleman Magazine” just 4 times a year. This is a real insult to all of its subscribers. The idiots do not realize that many people kept up their membership solely to keep receiving this magazine and now that it is nearly dead will probably not be renewing their membership.
What is also worrisome is that Gun World, and Guns Magazine have also gone belly up and went out of business. Both were great magazines, especially “Gun World” which I miss dearly. Strangely the most worthless of the gun magazines “Guns and Ammo” is still in business despite having so few articles to read in it that you can read it cover to cover in less than 1/2 hour. “Guns and Ammo” used to be a great magazine but in recent years has really gone down hill fast. I will be surprised if it lasts even another year.
Gun Week magazine which I enjoyed since the 60’s some years ago aso went totally digital and it lost many of its writers who were often highly critical of the gun industry when they produced junk or dangerous guns that could have been produced with more safety features in the design.
At least, dacian, you still have gay porn.
Good reply!
So is this where comments are starting to go… Insulting each other? We’re better than that!
Starting to go? How long have you been here? This SN made all sorts of accusations against me and I asked this person to provide the basis for what was said, no proof was provided. You were on that thread and made no comment on the exchange. I doubt I could insult this person, some people seek some level of notoriety. I will admit, I was testing to see if it would be taken as an insult. Sometimes I regret something I said, not feeling much regret about this one.
I haven’t been on here very long and it certainly didn’t take too much time to figure that out lol. I don’t recall the comments and try to avoid pissing contests between two people at all costs. If I have a scotch or two, then sometimes I’m all in but the comments just wear on me and I don’t like it. I honestly just thought, for some dumb reason, that gun people would be a little bit more forgiving and understanding of comments and articles and everything that revolves around weaponry.
Considering half of the US is against us from the get-go without ever knowing anything about us, the liberals, I thought we would/should be a tighter group. Well… MLK… a dream.
That’s funny because it’s true. lmao
Hard to believe that some people have an NRA membership, MMoore claimed to be a member. Maybe they just don’t tell the NRA when grandpa dies.