NRA IRS 990 For 2020

The NRA’s IRS Form 990 for 2020 is now online. There are some things that are note worthy.

Despite all the claims that NRA is doing well (in the bankruptcy suit LaPierre claimed that finances were the best they’d been in years), revenues fell even farther, from $291 million in 2019 to $282 million in 2020. This, from a 2018 peak of $350 million, about a 20% decline. The amount devoted to lobbying and politics, to ILA, the core function, is only $22.6 million. The amount spent on lawsuits, as we’ll see, is nearly double that.

Wayne LaPierre’s million-dollar salary was improved by a bonus of $455,000 and other benefits, making the total over $1.6 million. The NY Attorney General will cite this as proof of how helpless and submissive the board is. The CEO is caught, bluntly, embezzling massive amounts of the nonprofit’s money, and the board hands him a giant bonus to show how loyal it is to him (and disloyal to the nonprofit). John Frazer also was handed a $54,000 bonus plus other benefits that raised his salary from a nominal $282,000 to a real $429,000. Tyler Schropp, “executive director, Advancement,” who’s been cited in some scandals, drew $853,000.

The bylaws say that directors are unpaid volunteers, but Marion Hammer is drawing $259,000 for “consulting services.” Outside vendors are doing well, too. Infocision Management, which does fundraising, got $6 million in contributions and passed on $3.6 million to NRA, making a $2.5 million profit. Even though NRA has two firms paid to raise funds, it also had four firms listed as “fundraising consultants,” who raise no money but made $734,000. “Legal expenses” are astronomical: nearly $41.5 million.

Now, let’s talk about “excess benefits,” a tax term that can include unreasonably high pay to executives, but which NRA leadership uses to explain improper diversions of its assets, which others might call “embezzlement”: