NRA War Chest Gutted

Wall display with handguns and rifles for sale.

The 154-year-old NRA is burning through its investment reserves just to keep the lights on, raising hard questions about who will carry the fight for your Second Amendment freedoms in the years ahead.

Story Snapshot

The NRA sold nearly $40 million in investments in 2024 to cover operations and mounting legal bills.
Membership dues have plunged more than a third in two years, shrinking the organization’s grassroots base.
Net assets have eroded while liabilities still top $121 million, leaving the NRA financially fragile.
Program cuts mean less spending on publications, field work, and legislative battles that protect gun rights.

NRA Forced to Spend Down Its War Chest

The latest independent audit of the National Rifle Association shows an organization surviving by liquidating the very reserves built over generations of support from gun owners. In 2024, the NRA sold nearly $40 million in stocks, bonds, and other investments simply to pay its bills and reduce debt. Its investment portfolio plunged from over $72 million at the end of 2023 to under $33 million a year later, signaling a rapid drawdown of its financial safety net.

Auditors report that the NRA has run net losses for two straight years and is turning to its investments “to reduce debt and provide funding for operations.” That strategy keeps creditors at bay today but weakens tomorrow’s firepower. Even after the sell-off, the NRA still carried more than $121 million in liabilities at the end of 2024, only slightly lower than the nearly $146 million the year before, leaving a large gap between what it owns and what it owes.

Membership Erosion and Legal Warfare Drain the Organization

The NRA’s financial squeeze is tied directly to shrinking membership support and relentless legal battles driven by blue-state officials and gun-control groups. Membership dues revenue fell from more than $83 million in 2022 to $61.8 million in 2023 and just $51.7 million in 2024, a drop of more than one-third in only two years. As everyday gun owners step back or look elsewhere, the organization’s core grassroots funding stream is visibly drying up.

At the same time, the NRA remains locked in expensive litigation campaigns that divert money away from training, education, and advocacy and into courtrooms. An outside analysis of its tax filings estimates roughly twenty-one cents of every revenue dollar now goes to lawyers, underscoring how legal warfare has become a major cost center. Those lawsuits include long-running actions from the New York attorney general and gun-control organizations, which collectively sap resources that once fueled political and cultural defense of the Second Amendment.

From Powerhouse to “Shadow of Its Former Self”

For decades, the NRA stood as the dominant gun-rights lobby in America, backing pro-Second Amendment candidates and educating millions of new shooters. The group was a key ally for Donald Trump in 2016, pouring major resources into his first presidential campaign. Today’s numbers, however, portray a weakened institution. Net assets have dropped from nearly $42 million in 2022 to just under $16 million in 2024, while liabilities remain several times larger, limiting flexibility.

Experts watching the group’s trajectory describe the modern NRA as a “shadow of its former self,” warning that some of the damage may be permanent. Political spending has already declined, and the audit documents cuts to publications, public affairs, field services, and legislative programs between 2023 and 2024. That means fewer dollars for mobilizing gun owners, fewer boots on the ground in critical states, and less direct pressure on lawmakers tempted by new gun-control schemes pushed by the left.

What This Means for Gun Owners and the Conservative Movement

For patriots who see the Second Amendment as the last line of defense against tyranny, the NRA’s financial strain raises two big concerns: capacity and continuity. Capacity is already taking a hit as the group trims spending on advocacy and grassroots outreach to stay solvent. Every cut in field operations or legislative work reduces the organized resistance to new restrictions from activists, bureaucrats, and judges hostile to individual gun ownership and constitutional self-defense rights.

Continuity is the longer-term question. If dues declines and legal pressures continue, the NRA could face further asset sales, deeper program cuts, or structural changes that reduce its role on the national stage. Other pro-gun organizations and state-based groups are already stepping in to fill the vacuum, while well-funded gun-control outfits grow more aggressive. For conservatives, the lesson is clear: the fight for the Second Amendment cannot rest on any single institution, and engaged citizens will need to stay vigilant and organized as the landscape shifts.