NRA Foundation

In 2020, the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office sued the Foundation, alleging that its finances were not independent from the NRA. ³ The NRA Foundation is challenging the allegations, and the case is unresolved as of June 2021.

Background

The NRA Foundation was established in 1990. It is the charitable and education arm of the National Rifle Association (NRA). ⁴ The NRA Foundation has given $426 million in grants to promote firearms and hunting safety. It also supports public education programs on Second Amendment rights and firearms history. ^{5 6}

The NRA Foundation and the NRA share office space and staff in Fairfax, Virginia. ⁷ The foundation is incorporated in Washington, D.C., while the NRA is incorporated in New York City. ⁸

Fundraising and Grants

NRA Foundation volunteers raise money each year through Friends of the NRA, a fundraising organization established in 1992. ⁹ In 2019, about 1,100 Friends of NRA events across the United States raised $65 million for the NRA Foundation. ¹⁰

The NRA Foundation contributed $7.3 million to 500 schools between 2010 and 2016. The foundation funds the Eddie Eagle Gun Safe Program for children and provides grants to the Boy Scouts, the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), agriculture clubs, and 4H groups. ^{1 2}

The NRA Foundation also awards grants to police and sheriff departments. ¹¹

Financial Controversies

2020 Suit by Racine

In 2020, the office of District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine (D) sued the NRA Foundation alleging the Foundation did not operate independently of the NRA advocacy group, using tax-deductible dollars for non-exempt purposes. ³

In 2018, the NRA Foundation reportedly gave $12 million to the NRA in grants, along with a $5 million loan. ⁷ In May 2019, the New York Times reported that since 2010, the NRA has received at least $206 million in assistance from the NRA Foundation. ¹²

NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre sat as an ex-officio member on the Foundation’s board of trustees. The NRA Foundation reportedly did not disclose donations between 2013 and 2017 to Youth for Tomorrow, which provides services for children with psychological and behavioral problems. LaPierre’s wife, Susan LaPierre, is a former president of Youth for Tomorrow and was a board member at the time of the donations. ¹³

In September 2020, U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) led a letter written by Democratic U.S. Senators to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The letter urged the office to prevent federal employees from donating to the NRA Foundation through workplace giving programs. ¹⁴

2026 Suit by NRA

In January 2026, the NRA Foundation was suit by its 501(c)(4) sister organization, the National Rifle Association (NRA), for “trademark infringement and unfair competition,” claiming that $160 million which the Foundation had raised with the NRA was misused and violated the “law of charitable trusts.” ¹⁵ According to federal court filings, the NRA suit was to prevent the Foundation from “passing itself off to donors and the public as the NRA or an authorized NRA affiliate and misappropriating the many millions of dollars that NRA supporters contributed.” ¹⁵ Attorneys for the NRA further claimed that the NRA Foundation was being led by “a disgruntled faction of former NRA directors who lost control of the NRA’s Board following revelations of financial improprieties, mismanagement, and breaches of fiduciary duty and member trust,” while said Foundation leadership wants to, “withdraw grant and other funding of the NRA…to undertake fundraising activities in competition with the NRA, and to conduct its own programmatic activities in competition with those of the NRA.” ¹⁵

In June 2026, the NRA Foundation announced plans to separate from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and rebrand as the “1791 Foundation,” named after the year the Bill of Rights was ratified. Foundation officials stated that the reorganization was intended to provide a fresh start for the organization while continuing its support for firearm safety, education, and youth shooting programs. Foundation leadership denied the NRA’s allegations and characterized the litigation as an attempt by the NRA to gain access to foundation assets. In public statements, foundation officials argued that the organization had adopted independent governance reforms and was operating separately from the NRA. ¹⁶

Leadership

William H. Satterfield is the president of the NRA Foundation. ¹⁷ He is a retired U.S. Army colonel and former Army Ranger. ¹⁸Wayne Sheets is the executive director of the NRA Foundation. ¹⁷ Sheets is the owner of HWS Consulting, a fundraising firm used by the NRA. ¹⁹