Thread by @StephenGutowski

NRA Membership Dues, Contributions Rebounded in 2018 freebeacon.com/issues/nra-mem…

The NRA 2018 annual report gives insight into the group's funding and spending. I took a look through it and wrote up the most interesting parts--namely the biggest swings in revenues and expenses. freebeacon.com/issues/nra-mem…

Since the 2017 drop in membership dues was so widely covered, the biggest news out of the annual report is the fact that they rebounded in 2018. Dues even surpassed 2016 levels. This parallels the NRA's recent announcement of record membership. freebeacon.com/issues/nra-mem…

The new numbers rebut the idea that the NRA already has funding issues or that their funding has been drying up. For 2018, their funding sources appear to have been very strong. freebeacon.com/issues/nra-mem…

NRA membership dues went from $128,209,303 in 2017 to $170,391,374 in 2018—an increase of $42,182,071, or 33 percent.

Contributions to the NRA rose from $132,879,299 in 2017 to $165,075,288 in 2018—an increase of $32,195,989 or 24 percent.

In total, the NRA brought in $412,233,508 in 2018. That's up from $378,122,489 in 2017. The group's revenue rose $34,111,019 or 9 percent.

The rebound makes sense given how political non-profits tend to experience peaks and valleys in their fundraising that correspond with election years.

Of course, NRA spending also increased in 2018 for some of the same reasons. Their expenses rose from $379,227,070 in 2017 to $423,034,158 in 2018—an increase of $43,807,088 or 11 percent.

The biggest increase was in administrative costs. They went up by $25,009,795 or 56% between 2017 and 2018. The biggest increase there was in legal fees. Those rose by $17,295,418 or 374%.

Legal fees (totaling about $24 million) paid to William Brewer's law firm was one of the issues at the center of the recent NRA leadership fight. Former president Oliver North wanted an outside review of the Brewer contract, said it was "draining NRA cash at mindboggling speeds."

We can have a bit of insight into what the NRA has paid lawyers in the past. The legal fees paid by the NRA in some cases have been made public after they've recovered them from municipalities they've defeated in court.

For instance, the NRA was able to recover about $1.4 million worth of legal fees for their involvement in the landmark McDonald v City of Chicago Supreme Court case back in 2012. nraila.org/articles/20121…

The NRA set lawyer Stephen Halbrook’s rate at $800 an hour in their filing requesting their attorney’s fees be refunded in the McDonald case. courthousenews.com/nra-bid-for-1-…

A 2015 ruling in Osterweil v Bartlett shows a federal judge awarded a plaintiff who was financially supported by the NRA $60,485.68 in legal fees. The amount was less than the $245,051.35 plaintiffs requested. freebeacon.com/wp-content/upl…

In that case, plaintiffs listed attorney Paul Clement’s hourly rate at $1,100 but were awarded $300 per hour for his work. Attorney Kelsi Corkran was listed at $675 an hour but plaintiffs received $200 per hour for their work.

A number of other attorneys and paralegals were similarly listed at costing between $175 and $575 an hour but rewarded at lower rates.

While North claimed in his letter that Brewer’s firm billed the NRA “$97,787 per day, seven days a week, every day of the month” in the first quarter of 2019, it does not explain how many lawyers are being paid under the agreement nor how many hours have been billed.

Plus, Brewer's firm is currently representing the NRA in a number of cases. So, we can't know exactly what hourly rate Brewer's lawyers are charging the NRA. But this provides some insight into the NRA's past legal spending vs the Brewer contract.

Also, Brewer's firm was able to recover about $5 million from the NRA's former gun-carry insurance partner Lockton after the company ended their involvement with the program.

The NRA also made a couple of spending cuts in 2018. They cut about $5,484,743--or 12 percent--from their public affairs spending. Safety, education, and training went from $42,599,871 in 2017 to $32,716,600—a decrease of $9,883,271 or 23 percent.

Ultimately, the NRA's deficit ended up growing in 2018. They went from a $1,104,581 shortfall in 2017 to a $10,800,650 deficit in 2018. They still had $144,733,165 worth of net assets at the end of the year, though.

The annual report gives a better overview of the entire NRA because it includes all six groups that make up the organization. There's a (C)(4), four (C)(3)s, and a PAC. They often work with one another and this report includes all of their financials.

Oh, and Wednesday's announcement that the NRA's top contractor Ackerman McQueen is ending its relationship with the group will probably affect its spending going forward but raises more questions than it answers.

Anyway, read the whole piece for more: freebeacon.com/issues/nra-mem…