Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jun 1983.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
65 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
10 people listed on the 990; $78K paid to officers and key staff.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 3 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Velleco | $45,983 | $36,577 | $36,201 | $31,393 | $28,801 |
| Erich Pratt | $37,450 | $35,094 | $35,000 | $35,000 | $36,346 |
| Samuel a Paredes | $18,000 | $6,000 | $6,000 | — | $6,000 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See Gun Owners Foundation executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Programs and updates
Educates and provides legal aid to defend the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
Questions for Gun Owners Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. Gun Owners Foundation answers here, for everyone.
Education program- the foundation continues to research, publish and distribute numerous books, monographs, issue briefs, audio and video tapes, and other educational materials relating to firearms rights.
Legal defense program- legal assistance, counseling and expert support was provided to individuals in self DEFENSE/ second amendment and other firearms related matters.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.6M | $2.1M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.7M | $2.1M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $41K | $34K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $1.7M | $2.1M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $78K | $69K | $6K | $3K |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $23K | $20K | $2K | $1K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $7K | $6K | $968 | $484 |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $90K | $90K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $21K | $21K | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $34K | $34K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $40K | $34K | $3K | $3K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $1K | $1K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $104K | $7K | $4K | $93K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $399K | $261K | $38K | $100K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Nov 17, 2025 | $418K | $1.1M | −$641K | $1.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 6, 2024 | $810K | $399K | $412K | $2.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 13, 2023 | $775K | $332K | $443K | $1.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 14, 2022 | $815K | $282K | $533K | $1.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2021 | $461K | $298K | $163K | $698K | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $810,366 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 6 of 10 board members independent, 4 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $810,366 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $398,712 across 9 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $2,118,719 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,085,010 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit
Names, privacy, and removal requests More
The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.
Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.
We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.
Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.
If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.
Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.
If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.