NRA gave nearly $1 million to Valley groups and schools. Will the donations continue?

As pressure mounts on businesses, advertisers and politicians to distance themselves from the National Rifle Association in the wake of the Parkland, Florida school shooting, new data show that Valley organizations received nearly $1 million in NRA Foundation donations from 2010-16.

The information was released Friday by the Associated Press, which analyzed tax information filed by the NRA Foundation – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Most of the foundation's donations in the Valley went to sports and hunting groups, but the outliers included The Boy Scouts of America, Break the Barriers and several schools. The exact total donated was $977,495. About $634,000 of that came from cash donations.

Officials with several local recipient organizations said they were happy to get the money and will continue to apply for grant funding from the NRA for hunting and air rifle programs for disabled veterans, children and more. They seek to divorce themselves from the politics swirling around gun control, and want the public to know that the NRA supports a lot of worthwhile local programs.

"The NRA is a great organization," said Steve Hergenrader, co-founder of Break the Barriers. His organization received around $30,000, most of which funded an air rifle target-shooting program for veterans.

"People only hear about the killings, but they don't see the great stuff like these programs," he added.

The air rifle program does not involve any hunting or firearms use. The NRA grant covered the purchase of air rifles – some of which can cost more than $2,000.

This program helps veterans, many of whom are physically disabled or suffer from post-traumatic-stress disorder, rebuild their self-esteem and sense of community, Hergenrader said.

"Everybody needs to feel good about something they do," he said.

The Southern Tulare County Sportman's Association in Porterville topped the grant recipients list with $189,940 in seven annual installments. The other three organizations to receive more than $100,000 were the Sequoia Council Boy Scouts of America ($111,048), the Tulare County Trap Club in Visalia ($108,510) and the Exeter Sportsmen's Association ($104,837).

Anthony Cervantes, president of the Exeter Sportsmen's Association, said the entirety of his organization's NRA funding supports an annual pheasant hunt for children with hunter safety certificates. Receipts for eye protection, hunting vests, shells and a few shotguns loaned out to kids who don't have their own gun are given to the NRA Foundation, which covers the bills.

"We try and stay away from the political side of things," Cervantes said. "That's probably a losing battle. We just want to continue teaching hunting fundamentals to kids."

Cervantes said between 100 to 150 children from across California participate in the hunt, which started about 15 years ago.

John Richers, CEO of the Boy Scouts' Sequoia Council, said the NRA money, received between 2010 and 2016, was used at Camp Chawanakee at Shaver Lake.

"This is the really positive side of the NRA, for youth safety," he said. "Any scout years later will know what to do for safety if they come across a weapon."

Grants come as both cash and noncash donations, he said.

Scouts fire about 75,000 rounds a season at the target ranges, he said. so the grants are used to buy ..22 rifles, ammunition, eye protection and ear protection, as well as bows and arrows and archery targets.

The Boy Scouts also used the funds to built a new shotgun and trap shooting range at Camp Chawanakee.

The Tulare County Trap Club near Visalia has used NRA grants to improve its shooting range, buy trap-throwing machines that cost $9,000 each and fund youth competitions and training, including the purchase of clay pigeon targets and ammunition, said president Ken Marvin, a former Kings County sheriff.

"That's the kind of thing that keeps us going," he said. The trap club is a nonprofit group, and membership fees and and fees charged for targets cover operating costs but not much more, he said.

Money raised at NRA fundraising dinners held in many communities across the San Joaquin Valley are doled out locally by the foundation, he said.

There's an application process, but it doesn't end there, he said. "You have to be subject to scrutiny and inspection," including showing pictures of improvements, he said.

Sanger, Parlier and Reedley high schools have Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps programs that have received NRA funding.

Sanger teacher Bryan Kinyoun, who served 23 years as an officer in the Navy, said the program has 130 students participating, and 13 are on the air rifle team, he said.

The team used $18,900 in grant money awarded in 2014 and 2015 to buy new air rifles on the NRA website, and the foundation sent a check so the team could buy scopes for the rifles when they weren't available on the website, he said.

"They have a catalog of stuff that everybody uses" to buy targets, pellet ammunition and ground mats used when firing in a prone position, for instance, he said.

"We couldn't do it without the grants," he said.

Bob Dunlap, who helps run Make a Difference in Clovis, said his group used its grant of $11,233 from 2015 to buy clay pigeons, ear protection gear, visors, safety glasses and and ammunition for veterans to go trap shooting.

The NRA deserves a lot of credit, he said: "I get irked when they talk negative about the gun organization."

The Tulare County Deputy Sheriff's Association received $57,763 that it used to improve a firing range, fund youth shooting safety courses and pay for a youth program for disabled youth, said Sgt. Javier Martinez, the association's president.

"It's all free to attend," he said. "It's great to see the kids go out there. Basic gun safety is important."

Staff writer Tim Sheehan contributed to this story.

This story was originally published March 9, 2018 at 5:14 PM with the headline "NRA gave nearly $1 million to Valley groups and schools. Will the donations continue?."