NRA Journal - Spring 2011 - National Rifle Association

The NRA is a charity which, as has been highlighted in previous statements by the Chairman and the SecretaryGeneral, has incurred a substantial loss in 2010. It needs, over time, to make good that loss and build financialreserves which will allow it to weather the storms that the future may throw at it.Hard work by Graham Gold, the new head of finance, and his staff, has resulted in an improved positionwith the bank and I applaud them for all their efforts in resolving the short term cash flow shortage which weexperienced in the second half of last year.It is, however, essential that we address the underlying capability of the NRA group to generate a sustainablesurplus which will safeguard its future and allow it to continue to play a key part in preserving and developingshooting in the UK as well as running the major shooting events at Bisley which are so important to us.Whilst our executive team continue to make every effort to keep costs down, the fact is that there is no materialscope for reducing expenditure without major reductions in the range and quality of services provided toour members. It is apparent to me that the financial improvement which was seen in the years leading upto 2010, although partly arising from improved revenue-generation, was largely achieved at the expense oflong, mostly unpaid, overtime hours put in by our dedicated staff and by postponing maintenance workon the fabric of Bisley. This approach has now reached its limit and our facilities and our staff need greaterresources applied to them.Work on improving the long-term ability of the NRA to generate income from its assets at Bisley is well advancedbut will take some time yet to come to fruition. In the meantime it is the members and other users of Bisleywho need to support our charity by each paying a little more for our membership and our use of the ranges.Some of the charges for activities or entries to competitions have remained static or increased only slightly fora number of years, falling well behind inflation. We cannot, in all fairness to you, address the need to catchup with two, three or even four years-worth of inflation in one go but we do need to make a start and havetherefore increased most charges by a minimum of 5%.The entry fees for flagship shooting events have beenset in previous years without taking into accountthe costs of permanent staff who administer theseevents. This needs to change over the course of thenext few years so that the subsidy for those shootingthese events is gradually withdrawn. For this yearthe increase will be 5%.Some items, such as the charges for markers,were failing to cover even half of the associatedadministration costs and were therefore making aloss. The increase here is just over 7% which meansthat this area should now at least break even.The cost of a Grand Aggregate Imperial Meetingentry has gone up by around seventeen poundswhich is just over 5%. This is, however, largely drivenby increased ammunition costs, without which theincrease is 2.8%, kept low for this year because weare keen to ensure that as many of you as possiblecontinue to participate in our most important event.Some will doubtless say that shooting with the NRAhas now become too expensive and give up or goelsewhere. Others will undoubtedly chastise thetrustees for not increasing charges further in orderto generate funds for developing our sport. I hopehowever that the fairly modest increases for this year,coupled with our ongoing efforts to secure long-termincome sources, meet with the approval of the vastmajority of you.2Charges for 2011by James Ragg, Treasurer