Shooting Sports Retailer - July/August 2010

NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION

Become an NSSF Member
NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION
Become an NSSF Member

By Glenn Sapir, Director of Editorial Services, NSSF

Anytime you consider writing a check or flashing your credit card to become a member of an organization, you go through a cost-benefit analysis. “What’s in it for me?” you ask. It’s a good question, and if you are not a member of your industry’s trade association, the answers can offer a persuasive argument as to why you should join the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

In a nutshell, membership means survival. That’s right; by joining NSSF, you are contributing both your financial support and your business’s influence to a cause that is vital to our way of life and will, in turn, improve your bottom line, short and long term.

“What’s the cause?” you ask.

“The preservation and growth of all the shooting sports” is our reply.

NSSF, more than 5,500 members
strong, is dedicated in its mission, “To
promote, protect, and preserve hunt-
ing and the shooting sports.”
The Hunting Heritage Partner-
ship and Range Partnership grant
programs provide
hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars
each year to state
wildlife agencies
and shooting
ranges to improve
access and oppor-
tunity for the con-
sumer. The NSSF
launched the

Scholastic Clay
Target Program,
which has ignited
the shooting interest in more than
30,000 youngsters—and their par-
ents—and NSSF continues to be the
leading financial supporter of the
program. NSSF’s Collegiate Shooting
Sports Initiative is helping to fund
new clubs and teams and strengthen
existing ones. With
innovative pro-
grams like this,
NSSF has helped
create responsive
shooters—and that
means more con-
sumers of your mer-
chandise.

Other benefits
of membership
more directly
demonstrate how
NSSF membership is good for your
business.

Michelle Garcia, president of Cold War Shooters, appreciates the Federal Express Advantage benefit, which helps members save up to 26 percent on shipments.

“It’s good business practice to get merchandise delivered to customers securely, efficiently and on time,” she said. “When you get the job done well and save money, too, that’s good business sense.”

First Shots®, a remarkable cus-
tomer-development program that
gives newcomers the opportunity to
get started in shooting and the sup-
port to continue, has shown imme-
diate results increating new
participants.“Our
first event allowed
more than 60 par-
ticipants to try not
only handguns,
but shotguns and
rifles as well,” said
Jared Smith, then
manager of Desert
Lake Shooting
Club in Nevada.
“The event
brought us many

Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative www.nssf.org/college

www.nssf.org/firstshots

new members, as well as coverage in the local newspapers.”

NSSF’s Association of Firearms Retailers, our retailer division, focuses its efforts on issues important to you and gives special attention to legislative matters on both the federal and local level. It keeps its members abreast of important matters through Legislative Alerts and NSSF Member News.

With an important congressional election coming up and many challenges at the state level, it is now more important than ever for retailers, and indeed, the industry to have a strong and coordinated voice inside the beltway and beyond. Updated daily, the NSSF’s website, NSSF.org keeps industry informed with timely and valuable news, information and research, and several features of this site continue to promote hunting and shooting opportunities for your customers across the country.