|
NRA, ILA And The NRA Political Victory Fund The Institute receives some funding from NRA member dues, but its main source of revenue is derived from member contributions designated for legislative activity. ILA is not associated with any firearms or ammunition manufacturers.
All NRA members know the benefits they receive from being part of the pre-eminent grassroots lobbying organization in America. At the same time, many are unaware of some of the important regulations and restrictions that govern NRA’s legislative and political activities, particularly those relating to the segregated nature of fund-raising activities.
The fund-raising that sustains NRA’s legislative activities is conducted by ILA. Federal and many state election laws dictate that funds used to assist candidates for office must be raised separately, and that is the task of NRA’s political action committee—the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF). Neither NRA member dues nor contributions to ILA can be used directly for the election or defeat of candidates.
Because of these clearly defined parameters, and because only a small fraction of ILA’s operating budget comes from regular NRA membership dues, both ILA and NRA-PVF must continuously raise the funds needed to sustain NRA’s legislative and political activities. The resources expended in these arenas come from the generous contributions of NRA members—above and beyond their regular dues.
While NRA doesn’t expect every member to contribute to every fund-raising mailing, the mailers do double as legislative alerts, providing important information that empowers members to take specific actions: calling lawmakers, writing letters or completing and returning postcards. Sending solicitations periodically allows NRA to keep its members informed on the issues and threats gun owners face, while attempting to accommodate individual member budgets.
Raising the tens of millions of dollars needed every year to defend Second Amendment rights is no small task. But, in order for NRA to meet the challenges gun owners face head on in the legislative and political arenas, it is a necessity.
|
