Petrelis Files

IRS 990:
NRA ED's Pay Fell 45% in 2011

As part of my effort to sunshine the National Rifle Association, I blogged here about how it does not post any IRS 990s or annual reports on its site or that of the NRA Foundation, and here about the latter's 2011 annual report and the lack of black people in the photos or among the leadership circles.

Rick Tedrick, the chief financial officer for the NRA, denied my request to provide me via email with digital copies of the 2011 tax filings for the group and its foundation. He snail mailed me the filings and I've scanned and posted the two-pages of keen interest to me.

The first page, above, for the NRA's 2011 IRS 990 reveals revenue that year was at $218.9 million compared to $$227.8 million the previous year, while running a deficit of $12 million in 2011 and $15.7 million in 2010.

The NRA's nest egg assets were listed at $149.8 million in 2011, down from $163.7 million in assets the previous year.

Pay attention to the date it was accepted by the NRA's treasurer and submitted to the IRS. The date was November 7, nearly two months ago. Federal law requires tax exempt organizations to make their latest 990s available for public inspection on the day they submit the filing to the IRS. That is the reason why Tedrick had to share the 990s with me.

The second page I've scanned listed the pay of the top officers and directors of the organization. It shows that Kayne B. Robinson, the executive director of the NRA received $593,880 for his services in 2011.

However, in 2010 Robinson was compensated $1,079,185 according to the filing for that year. Click here to read that filing, no registration required, thanks to the Foundation Center. The salary info is on page 27.

That compensation reduction for Robinson of $485,297 means the percentage drop was a whopping 45%.

What about the public face of the NRA and its chief executive officer, Wayne LaPierre, and his compensation?

In 2010 LaPierre was paid $970,300 and during 2011 received $972,000 for his leadership and service. He took home an additional $1,700 or 0.17% more in compensation last year, which means he didn't keep pace with the rate of inflation.

I asked Tedrick some questions - would the NRA immediately post the 2011 tax filings to their sites, why the steep drop in Robinson's pay and a very minor increase for LaPierre, how about linking to the filings at the Foundation Center or GuideStar - and hoped to have a conversation with him about these fiscal transparency matters.

Tedrick replied:

The NRA has provided you more than all the necessary information as required by law. The questions posed . . . are beyond that threshold.

You can contact him here, RTedrick@nrahq.org, and request that the IRS 990s be snail mailed to you. Anyone in San Francisco who has the resources to scan and share hundreds of pages of the two 990s and two annual reports, should contact me so we can make arrangements for me to get you the documents.