The NRA Foundation has gone silent after being sued by the NRA. The attorney general of D.C. stepped in and the Foundation still refuses to disclose their leadership structure.
The ongoing saga of the National Rifle Association v. NRA Foundation continues. Last year there were rumors that the Foundation changed their bylaws and they were contacted about their leadership structure. The Foundation did not reply to those queries. Rumors of a conflict turned out to be true, as the NRA filed a lawsuit against the Foundation. To date, the Foundation refuses to publicly disclose who their trustees are. This lack of transparency continues even after the Office of the Attorney General of Washington, D.C. got involved to mediate. The Foundation still won’t disclose who makes up their current leadership structure.
The NRA made several allegations in the lawsuit. NRA alleges the Foundation was illegally using the NRA trademark as well as not distributing funds promised to NRA programs. The Foundation rebukes those claims stating that they are simply upholding their fiduciary duties. The Foundation also moved to have the case dismissed and that request was denied.
The NRA v. NRA Foundation story runs deep and there are many elements to it. Right now, there are a lot of allegations that have been made through the lawsuit and some public comments from NRA officials and leadership. There’s been near complete silence from the NRA Foundation outside of a press release noting the Foundation’s motion to dismiss the NRA’s lawsuit, a public statement after filing, and some decline to comment replies to queries.
“Our lawyers are analyzing the filed documents at this time until I hear from them I’m unable to make a comment,” NRA Foundation President Tom King said in an email. “Sorry but I’ll be glad to speak with you when I’m able to.”
Since then, an unverified website popped up — a link was sent to Bearing Arms — and alleges to put out “facts” about the NRA v. NRA Foundation case. The website has not been determined to be authentic as NRA Foundation leadership has ignored multiple requests for comment or to supply clarification that the website is indeed operated by the NRA Foundation — the site lacks provenance.
If you were a past donor of the NRA Foundation, the Foundation did have a “Donor Bill of Rights” posted online. The website — now archived — included the text of “The NRA Foundation Inc. Resolution Adopting A Donor Bill of Rights.” From the page:
NOW THEREFORE, it is resolved that all donors to The NRA Foundation, Inc., have these rights:
1. To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
2. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
3. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
4. To be assured your gifts will be used for the purposes for which they are given.
5. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition and to have the opportunity to keep your gift anonymous, if you desire.
6. To be assured that information about your donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality.
7. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing the Foundation will be professional in nature.
8. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
9. To be assured that the Foundation respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it. Your name and personal contact information will not be sold, shared or otherwise disclosed with/to any other organization, public, private, or non-profit.
After months of being ignored by the NRA Foundation, the Office of the Attorney General of Washington D.C. was contacted concerning this matter. Communication lines opened up with a meditation wing of the AG’s office. It was stated the Foundation has refused to provide information promised to donors via the resolution. The AG’s office expressed an interest in trying to amicably settle the dispute concerning the Foundation’s lack of transparency.
Initial requests included seeking the leadership information that would be provided on a current Form 990. Specifically, the names of the trustees and officers of the organization were being requested.
Once the mediation attempts failed, a Freedom of Information Act request was made with the Attorney General of D.C. That FOIA, R005465-030626, requested for the public release of correspondence related to the matter. The records custodian delivered a partial release and what’s being shared here was deemed accessible to the public via the FOIA process. Additional redactions of email addresses and certain names have been done to further protect the privacy of the persons involved/discussed in the linked documents.
The NRA Foundation’s initial response to the attorney general’s office is being provided here in full without commentary:
I am in receipt of your letter dated February 10, 2026, sent to The NRA Foundation, Inc. (“Foundation”) via various e-mail addresses. A copy of the letter and the attachments I received are attached.
This complaint, per your letter, was made by John Petrolino requesting that the Foundation “produce their 2025 Form 990” and either e-mail a copy to Mr. Petrolino or post it on the Foundation’s website. Your letter also states that “emails sent from Mr. Petrolino to NRA Foundation inquiring about the form 990” were attached or enclosed. While the Foundation is happy to comply, we wanted to note a few irregularities regarding this request for the record.
First, your February 10, 2026 letter appears to be the first time Mr. Petrolino has requested the Foundation’s 2025 Form 990. None of the attachments to Mr. Petrolino’s emails enclosed with your letter reflect a request sent to the Foundation. We also searched Foundation records for any such request for the 2025 Form 990 from Mr. Petrolino and found none. Please send any such requests from Mr. Petrolino directly to me, so I can ensure they are properly routed going forward.
Second, while the Foundation is aware of the federal requirement to provide a public copy of the IRS Form 990 upon request, that filing would not be due until November 15, 2026. Once the Foundation files its 2025 Form 990, we will make public copies available upon request, just as we do and have done for all previous filings.
Third, based upon various Internet posts by Mr. Petrolino, it seems he may be aware of this requirement. It also appears that he has a copy of the Foundation’s most recent Form 990 for 2024, or at least information obtained from it. (For both points see, e.g., https://bearingarms.com/john-petrolino/2026/02/02/is-the-nra-foundation-in-reputation-repair-mode-n1231410, including where he writes that “The 2025 990 for the NRA Foundation is not yet available.”)
While this complaint and his request is invalid for the reasons stated, we will construe his request for the most recent Form 990 that is available, which is for 2024. We will produce this within the 30-day time period permitted for these kinds of requests.
I trust this information proved helpful. Please reach out with any follow-up related to this inquiry.
Sincerely,
/Skipp C. Galythly/
Skipp C. Galythly
General Counsel
The NRA Foundation, Inc.
In response to this correspondence, it was reiterated that information entitled to donors via the quoted Donor Bill of Rights was being sought. Yes, in addition to a list of the current trustees, officers, and top-billed employees, a request was put out for salary information — all of which would be disclosed on a 990 filing. Nothing confidential was being requested, only information that would be made available to the public in due time and/or was promised to donors.
The NRA Foundation’s second response to the attorney general’s office is being included here in full without commentary:
Attached is the most recent 990. Please forward it to Mr. Petrolino. It has the most recent and required 990 public listing of officers and trustees. The Foundation is proud of its small, efficient board of trustees composed of accomplished individuals, and of its officers of considerable experience, knowledge, and expertise. It is sad that some out there seem determined only to attack.
As you may be aware, the NRA recently filed a lawsuit against the Foundation. Mr. Petrolino, who describes himself as an independent journalist, has written blog posts and the like about the lawsuit. His views are clear. You can Google his name and NRA if you are interested.
I’m going to assume at this point that the alleged emails concerning the 2025 990 simply do not exist. If they do exist, I’d still like to see them.
Regarding the archived website, the origin is not clear. This may be something NRA did through its Office of Advancement. Unfortunately, NRA took it upon itself to shut down our website. This document is mirrored on the Friends of NRA page. Friends was a Foundation fundraising program from the beginning. NRA now claims it as its own. Nevertheless, as you can see, there’s no entitlement to a list of employees and their salaries. As there’s no active website, other than for NRA and its affiliates, any inquiry seems best directed to that entity or entities, although it appears as if the NRA itself may have no such donor bill of rights. The Foundation speaks directly for itself with no other entity authorized to do so.
I will note that the Foundation and NRA entered into a shared services agreement whereby NRA employees do work for the Foundation with the Foundation reimbursing those costs. That agreement has been significantly pared down, resulting in incredible cost savings to the Foundation. This necessitated hiring a small number of employees who, frankly, are paid less than their counterparts at NRA. We also don’t pay things like housing expenses for this staff. Inquiry and criticism may be better directed elsewhere.
Mr. Petrolino can request the 2025 990 after it is filed. He’s not entitled to advance information not otherwise available to the public.
As for who currently serves on the NRA Foundation board and who are the top-billed employees, apparently the Foundation will release that information, even to donors, only when the law mandates, which will be in November. This is a developing story and updates will be provided as they become available.
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