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ISRA has ONLY 25K Members?


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http://www.isra.org/News/TabId/1068/ArtMID/4612/ArticleID/27815/ISRA-Thursday-Bulletin-March-1-2018.aspx

 

I know active political participation is low based on 2M FOID holders, but a declining membership to 25k in ISRA kind of surprised me.

 

..."When we got Concealed Carry we had 31,000 members. Now we have 25,000 members. I got many phone calls telling me that if we got concealed carry, then they would join. I havent seen any of those backsliders yet. When we started this fight we had 1,000,000 FOID card holders. Now we have nearly 2,300,000. We had no Concealed Carry License holders and now we are approaching 300,000. The attack on concealed carry is coming."...

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Yep. A lot of effort by a few activists will not carry the day in Illinois. We got CCW buy court order, not political power. I became a life member when I got my carry license. Have donate considerable treasure to the cause since then. Spoke to my rep before the votes just past. They are coming for our guns in Illinois and will eventually get them with this level of apathy. Do you blame the NRA for not wasting millions here. Imagine if 10 % of FOID owner showed up a IGOLD. We would control the agenda. We are the poster child for

bad state government and deserve our trouble for the government we allow.

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Is pearson still the mouth of the isra?

 

He made me to decide to not renew a couple years back, if he grates on others like he did me I am not surprised.

 

Yes he is...

 

ISRA needs to set up a table at the Chicagoland gun shops and recruit members. Some of these gun shops have lines of customers waiting to buy guns and use the range. The ISRA has been invisible, and they need to step up their marketing plan if they want members.

They do with some but lack volunteers. They attend the gun shows every month.

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ISRA needs to set up a table at the Chicagoland gun shops and recruit members. Some of these gun shops have lines of customers waiting to buy guns and use the range. The ISRA has been invisible, and they need to step up their marketing plan if they want members.

 

This. I have seen no outreach from the ISRA (I'm a member). You can't bunker down in times like this, you have to get out there and be active in communities to defend our rights. I'll renew my membership, but I haven't seen the ISRA as being very active, especially locally.

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While I agree with some that their alerts in the past have been inflammatory and noneffective, perhaps needing better review by those familiar with public releases, it hasn't made me want to not support them.

 

Link for joining:

http://www.isra.org/Participate/YourMembership/JointheISRA.aspx

Agreed. The lack of transparency and the sometimes cringe-inducing emails are what eventually caused my membership to lapse.

 

For instance, who elects the board? Apparently the board elects the board. Oh...ok. :getlost:

 

http://illinoiscarry.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=66971

 

HOWEVER, since there's no better statewide option...I guess I'll go renew now (grumble grumble)...

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ISRA needs to set up a table at the Chicagoland gun shops and recruit members. Some of these gun shops have lines of customers waiting to buy guns and use the range. The ISRA has been invisible, and they need to step up their marketing plan if they want members.

 

 

Outside of the people who frequent this site I dont think most gun owners in IL know about ISRA that needs to change

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After CCW which was great for gun owners and the 2nd in the state, but crapped on a few of us who were more focused on semi auto rifles, I tried to engage ISRA and pearson with some ideas to develop a solid district by district grass roots strategy. I had reached out to them and worked hard in my village communicating with all board members and speaking at the hearings during that specific fight, but was pretty much on my own. We managed to get a partial victory in my village but there was also a partial defeat.

 

It was apparent the divide and conquer strategy used at that time, thought of limited success back in 2013, would be the way forward with groups like Bloomberg's minions. Now, I hadn't been a regular ISRA social member (going to meetings, hob nobbing, popping a few garand clips at the ISRA range) before and I'm sure they get a lot of helpful "nuts" and it didn't really go anywhere. Fair enough. But the impression I got from just asking some questions was a lack of resources but more importantly a lack of imagination for how to work beyond that. You see that even with their marketing efforts. There is no way in heck they should only have 25k members. But then, I (and i'm sure most reading this) had to find out about ISRA through our own means vs an ISRA marketing program.

 

I work in an industry that is highly regulated and under regular attacks by much larger, better funded foes and the associations there manage to beat back those much bigger foes thorough a cost effective grass roots model that more than matches pure dollars and requires about 1 dedicated manager and reaches virtually ever congressional (fed) district in the US. (they might have increased staffing a bit since launch but the program more than pays off in results) It can be done if you have the will and the imagination especially with something like the 2nd where we have such enthusiasm. There are even low cost ways to perk volunteer participants beyond just enthusiasm.

 

And yes. Coming from a PR background the and media efforts (campaigns would be too serious a word) lack focus and messaging.

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While I agree with some that their alerts in the past have been inflammatory and noneffective, perhaps needing better review by those familiar with public releases, it hasn't made me want to not support them.

Link for joining:http://www.isra.org/Participate/YourMembership/JointheISRA.aspx

 

Agreed. The lack of transparency and the sometimes cringe-inducing emails are what eventually caused my membership to lapse.

 

For instance, who elects the board? Apparently the board elects the board. Oh...ok. :getlost:

 

http://illinoiscarry.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=66971

 

HOWEVER, since there's no better statewide option...I guess I'll go renew now (grumble grumble)...

+1. I couldn't have written your message any better.

 

Pearson is a buffoon and IMO, the biggest reason members don't renew.

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My biggest gripe with these organizations is the constant begging they do. They are constantly asking for donations and I've gotten membership renewal notices only a month or two after renewing. And don't get me started on the dinner time phone calls asking for funds.

 

 

I agree. They ask for too much information to join, and according to state law, you can't make a donation without joining. Catch 22.

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Having said what I said above I plan on rejoining. It doesn't cost that much for what support there is. But, linked to what I said above I didn't intentionally plan on letting my membership lapse. It just happened and I don't recall getting a reminder or at least a reminder that stood out from junk mail.

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While I agree with some that their alerts in the past have been inflammatory ...

... also in the present.

 

I decided I can ignore the polarizing rhetoric, because he thinks he's speaking to an echo chamber. As long as the ISRA defends the 2nd Amendment, ISRA membership is worth it. I don't look to the ISRA for any other issues.

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While I agree with some that their alerts in the past have been inflammatory ...

 

... also in the present.

I decided I can ignore the polarizing rhetoric, because he thinks he's speaking to an echo chamber. As long as the ISRA defends the 2nd Amendment, ISRA membership is worth it. I don't look to the ISRA for any other issues.

Pearson's recent email had the usual blowhardedness. Maybe the rest of the board can replace him. I REALLY don't like being associated with Richard Pearson. I think someone in charge with some decorum would help swell the membership.

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Grass Roots organizations everywhere are hurting because most of the young people just want to sit back, enjoy the spoils of their parents efforts and do nothing to conserve that which has been hard earned by those before them. You are seeing that in all of the volunteer, grass roots organizations. I am retirement age, disabled and I just can't get much done anymore. I struggle with just the yard work. But I still plan to attend IGOLD. And I'm still friends with my State Representative and Senator. And they both attended my benefit following the accident that disabled me.

 

I'm not saying ALL the youth are spoiled and lazy, but it seems the majority are. Those of you younger people here, tell me I'm wrong. And be honest. How many young gun owners can YOU talk into traveling to Springfield? or even to their Representative or Senators district office? I'm betting not many. I know because I've tried for years. I have seen many people buying semi-auto sport rifles on the premise that "I'm getting MINE, so I get grandfathered in and to HECK with everyone else!"

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Maybe the rest of the board can replace him. I REALLY don't like being associated with Richard Pearson. I think someone in charge with some decorum would help swell the membership.

 

That seems highly unlikely if what was posted in the thread I linked above is true. He appoints the committee, and the committee elects the board (or some such circular good ol' boys method). Who elects him? The board? No idea.

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My biggest gripe with these organizations is the constant begging they do. They are constantly asking for donations and I've gotten membership renewal notices only a month or two after renewing. And don't get me started on the dinner time phone calls asking for funds.

As far as I know, the ISRA actually needs the money, that they could not actually afford to make dinner time phone calls.

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My biggest gripe with these organizations is the constant begging they do. They are constantly asking for donations and I've gotten membership renewal notices only a month or two after renewing. And don't get me started on the dinner time phone calls asking for funds.

 

As far as I know, the ISRA actually needs the money, that they could not actually afford to make dinner time phone calls.
I dont ever recall an ISRA phone call solicitation. Maybe one or two USPS letters.
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