The National Rifle Association’s money woes and suspected self-dealings have put their non-profit tax exempt status in question. In April, New York Attorney General Letitia James opened up an investigation into the NRA’s whether or not the Second Amendment lobbyist non-profit had broken the laws in regards to how they have spent and recorded the spending of their money. Mike Spies has been investigating some of the peculiar filing practices, or lack thereof, by the NRA, for The New Yorker and Trace. His most recent article points out the strange relationship between the gun organization and a Christian charity foundation for children—the Youth for Tomorrow (Y.F.T.).
According to Spies, most of the NRA’s charitable spending on youth is clearly Second Amendment related: gun clubs, youth shooting and hunting groups. But the Y.F.T. is different. The North Virginia-based foundation’s mission, started by famed professional football coach Joe Gibbs, is to serve in and outpatient children dealing with “acute psychological and behavioral problems.” There is nothing wrong with a non profit gun club steering some of its small dollar donations towards a foundation that serves children. The issue that Spies points out is that the NRA didn’t disclose much of anything about its sponsorship of Y.F.T. events over the years.
Bad accounting and filing practices are the most benign and uncontroversial issue plaguing the NRA by all accounts. However, the Y.F.T. has a board member, who was president for almost ten years, leaving this past December—Susan LaPierre. If that name sounds familiar it is probably because she shares the last name of her husband, and NRA head, Wayne LaPierre.
It is important to note here that Spies is not saying that anything untoward has happened with the money or services given to Y.F.T. by the NRA, but it is strange that the non-profit, who very publicly talks about its sponsorship of youth groups, would decide to play coy in its support of what seems to be a very worthy cause.
An N.R.A. spokesman said that the N.R.A. is “a proud supporter of Youth for Tomorrow.” He did not explain why the foundation did not disclose the sponsorship payments but said that they were “endorsed by the audit committee of the board of directors.” The spokesman added that the N.R.A. views its support for Y.F.T. “as an investment in our local community near our N.R.A. headquarters,” in Fairfax, Virginia, and that “the relationships forged through Youth for Tomorrow benefit the N.R.A. in many ways.”
Spies spoke with an expert in non-profit law and regulation who explained that this infraction by the NRA isn’t necessarily nefarious, saying that there is a good chance that the LaPierre’s were afraid that their relationship would set off red flags with regulators, and an important revenue stream for the Y.F.T. could be compromised. This may be true but it also shows a pattern of accounting that is not allowed by the regulatory laws in New York, where the NRA has its charter. So while nothing illicit may have been happening between the NRA and Youth for Tomorrow, the attorney general may find that this example is added to the pile in a case that ultimately exposes the NRA to real justice.