Nra life membership

[mummer1973]

just wanted to post my thoughts and then see what you guys come up with as for a response. So in order to be a member of the local gun club here in delaware you have to be a current member of the nra. I am fine with that.
I dont mind belonging to the nra i think it is a good cause. I could do without the constant looking for a donation it gets old real fast. So my membership runs out 09/15 so in the mail came a renewal. You all know the drill. I have elected to do the life membership because i already paid membership dues for 5 years roughly $175.00

so they are offering an e-z payment plan for $500.00. To be a life member and i get a free hat. Yes i love hats. My question was for the life members do the donations requests get worse once a life member? I took this plan because its holiday season with thanksgiving dinner to buy and christmas gifts $500.00 right now is money i dont want to part with. To be honest i think they should of waited till after the holidays to do this offer.

On another note i donated 26.00 last month and they sent me a nra duffle bag not a bad looking bag. But when i saw the made in china tag. I wasnt to happy with that.
If they want americans to buy into there cause and they offer a gift then damn it the product should be made in america.

Thanks for reading the post and have a great holiday you all.

[butch2570]

Is you're mother or father a lifetime member? If so they can get you the lifetime membership at a reduced rate. It's a good cause, but it's in line with everything else in today's world, it all revolves around the dollar, but I'm steadfast on the 2nd amendment, so I hope it continues to grow, they will still want donations, make them if you wish, don't if you can't.

[Riverpigusmc]

When I went the payment plan route, it was 750 dollars, so 500 seems like a good deal

[winchester85]

i have been a life member for many years. upped it to patron life a while back, almost did benefactor recently but had some other issues come up.
you will keep getting requests for money, at least i do. i get calls too, and though i do not care for solicitations from anyone, i don't let it bother me. i give a few hundred dollars every year, some to the NRA itself, some to the NRA ILA. i give money on my terms when i see fit, i do not let anyone badger me into it. i am not sure, but maybe you can ask to be put on a no solicitations list?

as for the chinese made stuff, i usually choose not to get the free "gift". if the NRA is not buying a bunch of stuff to give out, they have more money for the real cause. but, i know some people like to get "gifts" and that encourages them to sign up. most times i just check the box that says no thanks for the gift.

[HATCH]

I think they ran a special a couple years ago for $300 for life membership. That's when I got mibe

[cbrick]

You'll still get requests for money, I've been a life member for so long I don't know if it's more or less for annual members. It is a needed cause and they do need money to fight it but like was already mentioned I send them money when I can afford to and toss the rest of the mail. What bugs me about the requests is how they seem to be talking down to you and attempting to make you feel like it's all your fault because you haven't sent them enough. About the volume of requests they mail each year know this, it is effective or they would not be spending the money on printing and mailing. If they took in less from those efforts than they spent on it there would be no mailings. You need to remember that none of the dues money goes to legislative action, only the NRA-ILA money can be used for that.

I'm a Benefactor Member and like many I did it when there was a sale, each time they dropped the cost I went up another step over several years. There's a surprising number of gun owners that don't like the NRA and won't join but they need to come to terms with the fact without the NRA that right now today they would not own a single legal firearm. The NRA is a large bureaucracy and as such it's not possible to make everybody happy, I didn't join so that they would do everything my way, I joined for the benefit of the cause.

The NRA does have outstanding recruiters tools in obummer and the democrats. 5 million members is nothing to sneeze at, pity it's not 50 million. Numbers mean a lot in the congress.

Rick

[rockrat]

I hardly ever get requests for money and like it that way. Maybe they gave up a long time ago as I have been a LM for 40 years.

[Echo]

I've been a Life Member for over 40 years. I was talking w/Ms. Frohman, who was ExecDir at the time (she's a local lawyer), and she said the problem was all the legacy members, folks who got their life memberships years ago, and no more dues coming in from them. I didn't comment that I was the worst kind, since I paid mine out ($200 at the time) over a 2 year period with Award Points, otherwise known as Silver Certificates. I don't know if gun clubs get those at a discount, but I was winning a bunch of matches at the time, and $25 worth of points every 3 months wasn't too bad for a new Captain with a wife & 3 kids. Also paid for a gun cabinet I'm still using.
But, Yes, they still hit me for donations. I'm a Benefactor member, and occasionally give them some more. Rather that than the national Republicans, that are nearly as bad as the Dems. And I have a bequest in my will for 5 grand to them, the NRA that is...

[StratsMan]

I too had 2-3 calls per year right after I bought my Life Membership... (~20 yrs ago, and $750 at the time) I don't think I've had more than 5 calls in the last 10 years, however...

[shooterg]

I've been through all the NRA memberships from annual when I was 21 to current Benefactor. Occasionally still get something trying to get me to join NRA. Mucho donation requests, sometimes I give, sometimes not. It all burns ! The $500 current deal through a Lifer you know or through Midway is a good deal, especially if you're a "youngster" under 50 !

[trapper9260]

I been a life since 1983 paid in full.And get ask for extra cash if I can ok if not let it go by.Do what you can and go from there jst because someone ask for cash dose not mean you need to give it out.

[onceabull]

I've been a life member for a bit over 40 years,,but I'm feeling like I'm on the "chump list",----,granted national election years are the worst, but I'm averaging 12-15 mail solicitations annually,,plus the phone calls... May have to upgrade just to see what happens.... Onceabull

[doorgunner]

I bought my life membership while in the navy in 1964. 50 yrs ago. I upgraded to endowment a few years ago. I get mailings every once in awhile. You can ignore them or read them. If you consider what all the NRA does to help us keep our guns. A thing in the mail every once in awhile is worth it.

[mold maker]

I would choose a life membership, but at 72, I doubt it would benefit me. I'll just use the renewal at the gun shows and save the admittance cost.

[country gent]

Another thing to remeber is alot of matches, State associations, and clubs require NRA membership as part of requirements for membership or to compete in the matches. I got my Life membership years ago for these reasons and to support a good group. I occasionally do donate.

[CastingFool]

I became a life member about a year or so ago. They still ask for donations, but maybe less than when I was an annual member. I donated occasionally, but I think that once you donate, you open the door for more requests.

[Powder Burn]

I was getting calls all the time and finally contacted them about stopping the "notifications". Seemed I had to change my preferences on line to "do not contact". Happy camper now. I was on a 3 year membership renewal for years and when they dropped it to $300 for LM I signed up immediately.

[C. Latch]

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.

http://www.nramemberservices.org/members/faq/faq.aspx

FWIW, as noted by others already, your membership dues go for membership, not for legislative activity. Keep in mind that the NRA survives on donation, while fighting an enemy that has all the funds it could ever need to advance its agenda.

[Reg]

Something to think about. Went endowment life years ago when they had some kind of promotion going and no, it didn't slow down the solicitations. One can get upset about getting hounded from time to time but you have to keep in mind the NRA puts out tons of money each year and memberships alone will not even begin to cover the cost.
As much as anyone might feel from time to time you cannot go out on the street and try to hunt down that Congressman or Senator and give him a whooping when he does something stupid and they all do it from time to time. Try it and you will wind up in the slammer. Nope, but you can answer those solicitations, send what you can when you can and believe me the NRA knows how to be a full blown pain in their rear and they know how to do it without winding up in club fed.
We did good this election year, 91 percent of those the NRA backed got into office and it didn't come cheap. It took money and lots of it and the most of that money came from those solicitations we all hate to get.

What is your freedom worth ?

[Nicholas]

Right on Reg!