Meet 34 Corporations That Help Inflate The NRA’s Membership

Think  Progress

While the National Rifle Association claims millions of members, polls show the vast majorityof the group’s members disagree with the national leadership’s hard-line opposition to gun violence prevention efforts. But despite the out-of-touch NRA executives, Americans might well join for another reason: massive financial incentives.

A recent NRA promotion invited people to join at a discounted $25 rate. In addition to receiving an official membership card, a subscription to an association magazine, and free gun insurance, new members received a $25 gift card for Bass Pro Shops, making the membership essentially free.

In addition to those incentives, members of the NRA and its business alliance receive a bevy of other discounts courtesy of the Association’s corporate affiliates. National and local companies provide discounts on everything from car rentals to identity theft protection. The companies get listed on the NRA’s site as corporate partners and can promote themselves as “NRA endorsed.” And, in some cases, the NRA gets a percentage of the profits.

Among the companies are:

• 4Ever Active: Five percent discount on healthcare supplies.
• American Cellars Wine Club/Vinesse: Discounted membership in the American Cellars Wine Club.
• Americap: Discounted custom-decorated caps, pistol holsters, clay bags, and apparel.
• Avis/Budget Group: Discounts on Avis and Budget rental cars.
• Best Western: Discounted rates at hotels worldwide.
• Celerant Technology: A 25 percent discount for gun clubs and stores buying software systems. A spokeswoman told ThinkProgress: “We have been a longtime partner of the NRA because we have many clients who are firearm dealers and several who are NRA members. We are a retail software company, and we specialize in many different retail verticals, one of them being firearms. We offer a discount to NRA members and do not have any plans to discontinue our partnership.”
• eHealthInsurance: Discounted insurance plans.
• Emergency Assistance Plus: Discounted emergency medical assistance.
• FedEx: Discounted shipping through the FedEx advantage program.
• First National Bank of Omaha: NRA Visa Card with no annual fee.
• Globalinx: Discounted telecomm service.
• GoHealth Insurance: Discounted health insurance plans.
• Harland Clarke: Discounted personal check printing.
• Hertz: Discounted rental cars.
• Holiday Card Center: Discounted holiday cards.
• Insperity / HR Tools: Fifteen percent discount on management software.
• Life Insurance Central: Discounted life insurance.
• LifeLock: Discounted identify theft protection.
• Life Line Screening: Discounted health screenings. A spokeswoman told ThinkProgress that “NRA members, along with members of literally dozens of other national associations, including unions, can receive a small discount off of our screening packages as a benefit of their membership. We believe that access to good, affordable healthcare is not a political issue and should be available to everyone.”
• Lockton Affinity / Gun Store Insurance: Discounted business insurance for gun vendors.
• National/Alamo/Enterprise: Discounts of up to 25 percent on rental cars.
• Outdoor Affinity: Discounted telecomm services.
• Payment Alliance International: Discounted credit card processing, especially for gun vendors.
• Rescue 360: Discounted emergency rescue services.
• SIRVA: Discounted moving services. A spokesman told ThinkProgress: “The relationship with NRA is one of many similar relationships with membership groups all over the country. These arrangements do not represent an endorsement by SIRVA.”
• Smartwaiver: Discounted legal waivers.
• Sportsmans Bench Products/ND Industries: Discounted adhesives.
• Staples Advantage (Corporate Express): Discounted Staples office supplies.
• Starkey Hearing Technologies: Discounted hearing aids
• TN Marketing L.L.C.: Discounted gun videos.
• TrueCar: Discounts on new and used cars.
• Wild Apricot: Discounted membership and website software. A spokesman told ThinkProgress that it allows any lawful group to receive a commission if they sign up asaffiliate partners. Though the NRA Business Alliance site identifies them as offering a discount, he explained: “We do not pay any fee to the NRA, and their affiliates do not receive any discount on our software.”
• Wyndham Hotel Group: Discounts at Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Ramada, Super 8, and other Wyndham hotel chains.

The LA Times reported in January that the global advocacy site Avaaz.org is encouraging Facebook users to urge Best Western and Wyndham “to get out of bed with the extremist NRA.”

A spokeswoman for one listed partner, Palo Alto Software, told ThinkProgress that it had ended its corporate partnership with the NRA and no longer offers a discount to NRA members. The NRA affiliate link, she said in an e-mail, is “outdated” and the company expects it to be removed “this week.”

ThinkProgress reached out to all of the other companies and the NRA for comment. Representatives for FedEx, Hertz and Lockton Affinity declined to comment on their “proprietary” relationships with the NRA. The others did not respond to inquiries by press time.

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