NRA Membership

[cdoc42]

I have been a NRA member for over 30 years, but I discontinued membership a few years ago because of the constant requests for donations (even though I may have already donated) and renewal notices for membership even though I had a 5-year membership in effect. I figured the only way to figure out if my dues were due was to stop membership and start all over.

Well, I recently joined again, effective Nov 2009. There was a knife offer to go with it but when the membership card arrived I had to submit another card to receive the knife and it has yet to arrive. Since then I have received two more membership requests with accompanying toys being a duffel bag and a heat activated drink cup.

I'm sure I'm not the only member experiencing this - is anyone else irritated by this? What have you done about it?

 

[Frank Ettin]

Yes, the NRA can be very annoying, BUT

[1] The NRA is the most effective RKBA organization. They have the largest membership of any of them, and they do the best that they can with that membership base. Politics is strictly a numbers game. If the NRA had more members, it could be that much more effective. And those folks who complain about the NRA's so called failures need to tell us who did, or could have, actually accomplished more.

[2] Facts of political life -- politicians don't listen to individual voters and they don't listen to or care much about reason. They care about numbers. One hundred phone calls or letters in support of or against something are better than 10. Ten thousand would be a lot better yet. It doesn't matter what the caller or writer says is the reason to support or oppose the thing. All that matters is the number on each side of the question.

[3] An NRA with 4 million members gets attention. An NRA with 5 million will get more, and an NRA with 10 million members could get some real serious attention. As annoying as the NRA can be, it's in our interests to see it grow and prosper.

[4] Politicians aren't swayed by fine arguments, logical demonstrations or even facts. They are swayed by how many voters (and potential voters and contributors) line up on each side of the question. They are influenced by political and economic power.

[5] Given all that, the NRA does what it reasonably can do in the political climate in which it operates. It can not perform magic. Under the right circumstances, it can, and has, effectively moved affirmative pro-RKBA legislation (like the law protecting gun makers from frivolous law suits and the National Park carry legislation). And sometimes it can block legislation we don't like. But sometimes the political deck is so stacked against our interests, the best we can reasonably expect the NRA to be able to do is help make the best of a bad situation.

[6] It's fine to talk about "no compromise." But remember that he who insists on all or nothing gets nothing. If the votes aren't there they aren't there.

[7] The NRA is at the forefront of shooter education and safety training. Their program for certifying instructors in a variety of disciplines helps make competent training more readily available to the public. And their "Refuse to be a Victim" program is excellent.

 

[Don H]

From the NRA website:

Q: How can I reduce the amount of mail I receive from the NRA?
A: Simply email us at membership@nrahq.org or dial 800-NRA-3888 and request to be placed on the "Do Not Promote" list. This will significantly reduce the amount of mail you receive without affecting important mailings, magazine service, or your membership renewal.

Worked well for me.

 

[orionengnr]

I became a Life Member about three years ago, and I get zero solicitations.
My GF just became a Life Member about three weeks ago. We'll see what (if anything) she receives.

 

[45Gunner]

Interesting post in that I had a similar experience. Years ago I joined the NRA. Every day, and I do mean every single day I went to my mail box there was another request for a donation. It irritated me because these requests were multi-page, multi-color advertisements for donations. They would need thousands of dollars just to pay for the advertisements and postage. I didn't renew my membership.

Years went by and I decided to try it again as I truly believe in what the NRA does. When I joined, I asked that I not receive tons of solicitations and they have honored that.

As a side note, when I rejoined, I was offered a NRA Range Bag. It never came so I called to ask. The order was never put in. OK...big organization and it could happen. When the range bag arrived, it was junk. The zipper broke before my first range trip with it. Guess where it was made.

I am going to enroll as a Lifetime Member so I can cut off the membership renewal requests....and I think they are worthy of donations to protect our Second Amendment Rights.

 

[nutty ned]

Buy a lifetime membership and respond to what ever pieces of their mail you want to, otherwise treat it as you do other junk mail.
Soon enough they will stop sending you junk mail and then you can make your annual donation directly to their Va address.
Problem solved.

 

[allenomics]

The NRA will take you off its mailing lists. Call with your membership number or write to membership with your number and state your request. Be sure they don't stop your magazine. I agree, they must waste millions of dollars on junk mail that many of us never want or need to see. Bulk mail solicitations must work because the NRA is generally a smart marketer.

 

[deltadreams]

All Non Profits have a membership department that handles this stuff. Either treat it like junk mail or make a phone call or email to request it stops. IMO all of them spend too much on the renewal and solicitation stuff.