NRA Faces New Financial Peril (Ft. OSU's Brian Mittendorf)

This week, we're taking a look at the state of the National Rifle Association (NRA) as it faces what may be its biggest challenge yet. The NRA has survived 150 years, a corruption lawsuit, and a bankruptcy filing. But it is now staring down a potential crackup with the group's foundation attempting to split off. Ohio State University accounting professor Brian Mittendorf joins the show to explain just how much of a threat to the group's financial stability. Mittendorf said the battle between the foundation and the NRA membership organization, which recently escalated when the foundation's leadership dropped the NRA moniker from the group's name, could be catastrophic for both. The NRA houses most of the actual operations people associate with the group, but the foundation has long served as a key financial backstop. He argued that without it, the NRA could be back on the path to devastation, and without the NRA name, the foundation could struggle to raise new funds. He explained the complex, though not uncommon, financial setup behind the consolidated NRA, which actually involves seven different legal entities. Mittendorf said the foundation's large endowment and low expense structure have long been able to paper over some of the financial struggles of the membership organization. The NRA's latest report indicates the foundation houses nearly 70 percent of the combined organization's net assets and cash. Mittendorf noted that the NRA is still much larger than all of the other gun-rights groups combined, despite losing huge sums of members and revenue over the past half-decade. He said the group's latest annual report shows the NRA has also managed to staunch some of the bleeding and put itself on a more sustainable path. But, ultimately, he said the foundation fight threatens to undo any progress the group has made.Special Guest: Brian Mittendorf.