Friends of NRA Program is Safe and There’s a Path Forward

National Rifle Association members are navigating the conflict between the Association and NRA Foundation; the Friends of NRA Program is still on with funds going to other (c)(3)s.

Earlier this year the National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit against the NRA Foundation. The NRA alleges that the Foundation is withholding crucial funds earmarked for NRA flagship programs. The NRA said that some programs — like ones benefiting law enforcement — were cut over 55 percent. NRA members and supporters have been worried about the state of the Friends of the NRA programs since this feud started. Executive Vice President Doug Hamlin recently sent out a notice to NRA directors about the program being unaffected. Bearing Arms was able to get more details about the status of the Friends program.

Traditionally the Friends of NRA program would raise funds and 50 percent would be deposited into the NRA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) and the remaining 50 percent would stay within the state the funds were raised in. Since the lawsuit was filed, the NRA is still utilizing the Friends program, however, the funds are no longer being diverted to the Foundation. As previously reported, those funds will be directed to one of two other 501(c)(3)s that have the NRA as a benefactor.

While attending the 2026 Great American Outdoor Show, Bearing Arms got the inside scoop directly from Hamlin himself. Hamlin said that they “had to make some adjustments to the program, but when you distill it all down, nothing’s changed.” Hamlin said that the program will continue and that information on participating in Friends programs can be found at NRA.org.

Many donors and event organizers have expressed worries about continuing to participate. The fear was that money raised would get funneled into the NRA Foundation — where, again, it’s alleged they’re not giving out crucial funds.

“When you go to an event, you’re not going to see any difference,” Hamlin said. “The dollars will be deposited in another 501(c)(3). We have the Patriot Fund, and we have the Freedom Action Foundation. So as far as you and as an individual participant, nothing has changed.”

There have been numerous allegations that event coordinators for different Friends of NRA dinners were being told that the merchandise and prize packages would not be delivered. Not having the materials to auction and/or raffle off is problematic for events scaffolded the way these fundraisers are. Hamlin explained that not having any inventory shouldn’t be an issue going forward.

“We’re in the middle of our 2026 dinner season, right?” Hamlin noted. “And this change really  took effect February 1, and the dinner packages — the prize packages — have been warehoused properly, and they’re being shipped and distributed to those individual dinner locations, and so there should be no controversy about that.”

James “JP” Carter is the senior executive director of advancement and business integration. Carter’s responsibilities include the managing of the Friends of NRA program.

When asked about the packages and about the change in the way things were getting done on the back end, Carter said that “every challenge has an opportunity.” He explained that the Friends program had been so successful for so long that change wasn’t ever something that was considered. But, the program got more than a fresh coat of paint during the revamp.

“The standard package for 2026, we negotiated with the Foundation there,” Carter said. “We set up terms to get those packages, so at all the events, there will be the standard packages. So all of that will continue as usual.” The NRA will be essentially buying the inventory from the Foundation for those items.

New ways have been established with how future events will be supplied inventory. Carter explained that the Friends program always had a relationship with Davidson’s. That relationship allowed for the direct shipping of products to events. However, that option wasn’t always opened up to all the field reps. Going forward, the ability to have Davidson’s ship directly to an event will be opened up to all the reps.

Carter noted that some of the changes can be immediately realized. For example, he said the Wall of Guns was overhauled and the new and improved way of handling the inventory was being utilized at the Great American Outdoor show. The change includes a partnership with Guns.com.

“Transparent to the attendee, transparent to the individual, you play the long guns the same way,” Carter said. “But now you could, in theory, if you win, you get a guns.com $500 gift card, and you could be on your phone finding what you want and having it sent directly to your FFL before you even leave.”

One concern with the Friends dinners was about cost. Would these changes make a difference on the bottom line to the individual donors? Carter said that shouldn’t be the case and any increase in price that folks are seeing is likely due to general inflation and the cost of food and supplies.

Besides the individual donors that the NRA Foundation would get donations from — whether through a dinner or just them being benefactors — there were a number of high profile corporate sponsors. When Carter was asked about any attrition or loss of donor base, he said that the NRA proper has been able to effectively notify most of the high-profile donors and that process has been “going well.”

“The timing of SHOT Show actually was very beneficial, even though there was so much going on. But it allowed myself and Doug Hamlin to have direct conversations with our industry partners,” Carter said. “And so some of the ones that you listed out there [Larry and Brenda Potterfield, Midway USA, Henry Repeating Arms, Taurus, Ruger, Keltec, Kimber,etc.] I sat down personally with and discussed with them what was going on. And frankly, the support has been tremendous because of the physical connection that the friends program creates regardless who the beneficiary is.”

The overall outlook on the future of the Friends of NRA programs seems fairly positive. Whether or not the NRA Foundation is withholding funds and/or plans to continue to do so, is of little consequence with future fundraising efforts. The NRA is moving forward with a new plan and the chips will lie where they fall.

The full conversation with NRA Executive Vice President Doug Hamlin can be checked out HERE or in the embed below.

Editor’s Note: 2A groups across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

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