Recently, the National Rifle Association has come under scrutiny over allegations of profligate spending by top executives.
Now, a new report from The Washington Post says these executives may have also directed substantial sums to NRA board members — the very people tasked with overseeing the organization's finances.
According to the report, 18 of the NRA's 76 board members collected money from the nonprofit for consulting, public outreach and similar services in the last three years. While laws permit nonprofit board members to do business with their organizations under certain guidelines, penalties can be imposed if top officials and their families receive economic benefits that exceed fair market value. Additionally, federal and state filings revealed that the NRA paid its board members to bring in new members.
Speaking with WaPo, Daniel Kurtz, head of Pryor Cashman's Nonprofit + Tax-Exempt Organizations practice, said it is unusual for board members to be paid such membership commissions for recruitment: "Most groups lean on board members to give money, not for board members to get money. I think the contributing public would look at that with a dim eye."
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