The National Rifle Association of America is a 501(c)(4) membership organization at 11250 Waples Mill Road in Fairfax, Virginia. Its IRS ruling date is April 1944 (EIN 53-0116130). For the 2023 tax year it reported total revenue of 168.1 million.
Founding
By the association’s own account, Union veterans Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate formed the NRA in 1871, “dismayed by the lack of marksmanship shown by their troops.” The stated primary goal, in a magazine editorial by Church, was to “promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis.” New York granted the charter on 17 November 1871, and Gen. Ambrose Burnside — a former governor of Rhode Island and U.S. senator — became the first president.
Self-description and scale
The NRA describes itself as “widely recognized today as a major political force and as America’s foremost defender of Second Amendment rights,” while maintaining that “since its inception” it has been “the premier firearms education organization in the world.” It claims “nearly five million members.” That figure is the organization’s own and is not independently verified here.
Relevance to digital political discourse
The NRA operates what it calls the “NRA Universe of Websites” — a network of separate properties covering membership, training, competitive shooting, events, state and federal gun law reference, and legislative and political material, alongside accounts on the major social platforms. The structure means the organization publishes its own reference material on firearms law rather than directing members to third-party sources.
Sources
- 01.
Internal Revenue Service, via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. National Rifle Association of America, EIN 53-0116130 — IRS Form 990 filings. Source for the EIN, the 501(c)(4) classification, the April 1944 IRS ruling date, the 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, Virginia address, and FY2023 revenue of $175.7 million and total assets of $168.1 million.
- 02.
National Rifle Association of America. About the NRA. Source for the 1871 founding by Union veterans Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate, the stated primary goal to "promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis," the New York charter granted on 17 November 1871, Gen. Ambrose Burnside as first president, the organization's self-description as "the premier firearms education organization in the world," and its claim of nearly five million members.