Ranking of National RKBA Organizations

[mnrivrat]

Moderators : If this is not congruent with this thread Title feel free to move it.
The purpose of this thread is an attempt to rank national RKBA organizations by their effectiveness in actions having to do with the purpose of their existence, and which organizations give the best returns to the members who belong to , and/or donate to them.
Put simply , where do you get the best results for your dollar. I would like a list of only the top three ranked national organizations put in order of the best as #1 through #3 .
I know there are perhaps more than 3 in existence, but I only want the top 3 to which make the best use of the dollars given to them to advance the purpose for which they exist. If this has already been done please give reference as to where to find it.
You are welcome to make a brief comment as to why you choose as you did, but please keep your comments brief.
You may also add a state organization to the list, but keep that to a single organization, and no comment.
The purpose here is to direct funding to the best resources. Those that get results for the dollars they take in. Lets try to keep it clean and simple. Not the place to run down a organization, but sort of a guide to where you get the best bang for your buck. If the thread is not appropriate then moderators can delete it . Remember to contact your representatives to make noise over proposed anti gun legislation, and don't expect organizations to do it all for you.

 

[Dibbs]

I support USA Shooting, regularly. This organization gives the USA representation in the World Olympics. A positive message, with good exposure, for our sport.

I would also like to see information on which organization is the best. Perhaps now, while there is an ammunition shortage, is a good time for us, all, to get organized, by acquiring membership in one RKBA. Under a proper organization, for the membership cost of less than the current cost of 1 box of 9mm ammo. This bullet shortage could be a blessing in disguise.

 

[SharpDog]

1. NRA for communincation, legal defense Including NRA ILA and the training programs to grow young shooters
2. SAF for legal defense of RKBA
3. GOA for communication and legal defense of RKBA

 

[mnrivrat]

I will give mine. I belong to the NRA for a national organization. I belong to MGR (Minnesota Gun Rights) for my state organization. I donate at times to other national organization, and plan to join one more.
2nd Amendment Foundation is my likely choice but I am still doing some research including hopefully this thread.
I send e-mails and make phone calls to all my representatives.

 

[Gridley]

My $0.02:
#1: GOA
#2: 2AF
#3: NRA
GOA does a good job on creating pre-generated emails on various bills (both Federal and state); I still recommend personalizing them but I get more responses to things they drafted than I do on those from other groups.
2AF either does a good job in court cases or does a good job hyping them. I hope it is the former.
NRA is still the biggest and there are times in the lobbying world where quantity does indeed have a quality all its own.

 

[hso]

I think we'll see that the "Big 3" are SAF, NRA, GOA in whatever order you prefer to rank national organizations. I'll point out that the ILA is the lobbying sister organization to the NRA and that the NRA Foundation is the hunter safety non profit different than either in their charters and classifications. I would be remiss if I didn't point out that SAF/CCRKBA/JPFO are all "sister organizations".
SAF is a 501(c)(3) foundation dedicated to education, legal research and legal action (lawsuits) in support of the Second Amendment. CCRKBA is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization. It is the second largest gun rights lobbying organization in the U.S. and was actually formed in 1972, BEFORE the NRA created ILA in 1975.

Every state has their own and they need the support of residents and frequent visitors. Virginia Citizens Defense League currently is particularly popular at THR because VA is the focus of a lot of Anti and Pro 2A interest making VCDL a very important state organization in the 2A struggle.

Then there are smaller national organizations like Pink Pistols and National African American Gun Association that break the gunowner stereotypes put forth by the Antis that play an important role in supporting the 2A.

 

[webrx]

Member NRA and SAF since I spend my money with them I guess I rank them as worthy.

I guess I need to look into GOA and any others. I will be looking here for any worth investigating.

d

 

[CapnMac]

There's an all too human desire to rank things; to presume that all things fall on a scale.
For RKBA, it really does not matter who you commit to, as much as you being committed.
A dollar invested with A is not better (nor worse) than with B.
All of the nationals do some good.
The only people who ought worry about better or worse in the RKBA arena are the antis.

 

[mnrivrat]

There's an all too human desire to rank things; to presume that all things fall on a scale.
For RKBA, it really does not matter who you commit to, as much as you being committed.
A dollar invested with A is not better (nor worse) than with B.
All of the nationals do some good.
The only people who ought worry about better or worse in the RKBA arena are the antis.

Not to get off topic to far I have to disagree with the premise that you imply "it really does not matter who" . If I felt that way this thread would have no purpose, and I would not have posted it. I read somewhere an example of an anti-gun group starting an organization who's title sounded as if they were pro-firearm in nature. They were not.

I also recognize that within organizations that are funded by donation and by membership fees there are some that spend very little of what they take in on the purpose they state as their mission or goal. Others may spend the funds in a manner that does little to no real accomplishment. Therefore I believe ranking is useful.

I do so very much agree with your statement regarding commitment . Way to many firearm owners who believe in the right to keep and bear arms do not commit to doing anything to keeping that right. They leave it to others to bear that load .

 

[hso]

For RKBA, it really does not matter who you commit to, as much as you being committed.

I agree that being committed is more important than what organization you commit to, but there are clear differences in efficacy between organizations based on recent track record, importance of their effort, etc. so a ranking isn't itself irrelevant. Everyone knows the NRA, SAF, and GOA, but NRA-ILA, JPFO, Firearms Policy Coalition, CCRKBA, Pink Pistols, and others are less well known RKBA groups, but still effective at their pro 2A work. Also, there are some questionable national organizations (cough, NAGR) and some outright false flag groups (Giffords' Gun Owners for Safety)

My state 2A organization has an easy time of it, but VCDL is right at the front of struggle as are the Cal Guns Foundation.

THAT said, the top three national organizations are likely all worth contributing to as they are approaching the 2A struggle from somewhat different angles. CCRKBA and FPC are also well worth supporting. Some states organizations are important as well. Depending upon how far your budget can stretch, adding or sorting groups is worth studying. So knowing what your best options are in these trying times is useful.

 

[CapnMac]

If I felt that way this thread would have no purpose, and I would not have posted it. I read somewhere an example of an anti-gun group starting an organization who's title sounded as if they were pro-firearm in nature. They were not.

My intention was to prevent a problem these threads often have which is that they become "[Organization] is [obscenity/imprecation], and you are a [invective/defamation] for giving them a penny!" all too quickly.

Now, a thread asking "Are there Anti-RKBA groups disguised as pro-gun?" is a different animal.

If one like to stumble on the rocks of grifters using 'similar' names to real charities.

I would never 'rank' GOfS on a list of RKBA organizations any more than I would rank a snake among mammals.

 

[hso]

threads often have which is that they become "[Organization] is [obscenity/imprecation], and you are a [invective/defamation] for giving them a penny!" all too quickly.

That happens in General, but we don't tolerate OT here in Activism (we have our own posted requirements) so rants are deleted, ranters may get cited, and it is possible they loose privileges to THR for a period of time.

 

[mnrivrat]

"I would never 'rank' GOfS on a list of RKBA organizations any more than I would rank a snake among mammals."

I don't think I was insisting on anyone to do that . Not even quite sure I understand how that applies to the thread other than your not wanting to participate in the ranking process. Frankly I have been a NRA member off and on since the 1960's (most years) . I however have not participated with membership of other RKBA organizations and in some cases didn't even know they existed . That makes it difficult for me to make a choice of witch would be best to join (My thoughts). So that makes ,for me ,and possibly others , a desire to know witch to choose from. You most certainly have the right to express your opinion and pass on anything that you either disagree with, or are against for whatever reasons you have to do so.

 

[GODA_Nella]

It's a fluid thing I think. I rank GOA pretty highly. FPC is intriguing and might deserve a high ranking too. Too much scandal in the NRA lately and too much money wasted. I have hope for them because of their rich history, but they need to clean house and get a new approach going. So I don't rank them highly right now. NAGR is something I would avoid, along with their state groups - not sure what they actually do besides take money and make a few posts/videos online.

Edit: someone asked about groups that bring lawsuits. It looks like the FPC does this regularly. Correct me if I'm wrong. All these groups do ask for money a lot and not sure how transparent they are in showing where all the money goes.