BHA Lifetime membership... help me decide on the "gift"

[5MilesBack]

Your question assumed they are wasting money on swag, it didn't ask whether or not they were or what the terms were.

I asked why they were. If they aren't.......then a simple substantiated answer to that would suffice. Everyone is assuming so far until we get the facts. If they are in fact "not paying anything for them" I will apologize and retract my assumption.

Has anyone here ever studied a non-profits financial statement before? I have. In a lot of cases they aren't pretty when you actually see what's what.

 

[Trial153]

Typical? Ah yes, my simple drivel of logic and reason must get old for you and the sorts that have trouble with that simple stuff. But if you want to give all your money away without any questions give me a call. I've got a bunch of opportunities for you.

Don't ever get involved in business. All that legal and logic drivel will frustrate the heck out of you.

If anyone has any FACTUAL knowledge and not guesses as to whether this is all donated or such......post it up. I know Kevin (SO) is on here.

But gee Trial, we all could have done without your post. But if you'd like to discuss it further offline, lets get together. I'll even pay for the hunt.

what we could have done away with was your Initial Insinuation that money is being wasted . furthermore your hint( wondering) if there is more insidious waste going on. and where was all this posted? in a thread where a guy asked for advise as what great member ship gift he should chose.

 

[FlyGuy]

Pretty sure that BHA doesn't have a closet full of kimber rifles in every caliber just waiting for the memberships to roll in. Just wouldn't make any business sense at all. I don't profess to know any details, but logic would say that they have an arrangement with these suppliers that is mutually beneficial. (If there are less public lands, then these guys are going to sell a heck of a lot less rifles and tipi's!) Once you sign up and tell them the caliber you want, then they place the order with Kimber. I'm sure BHA gets a discount, probably at least as much as they give Cabelas or sportsmans or any other retailer, maybe even more b/c of the donation they can claim. However I highly doubt that it is completely free.

For me, the biggest benefit for these memberships is if you are looking to buy a mtn rifle anyway (like I am) then that ~ $1900 rifle purchase that you were going to make anyway just became a $2500 tax write off! Depending on your tax bracket, it pretty much means that the $600 membership Fee is going to come in close to a wash.

I don't know all the details of what BHA does with every dime they get and I don't plan to spend much time worrying about it. But, I do know they are doing a Hell of a lot more than anybody else is for public lands, and I'd just as soon divert a little of my income tax dollars away from the Fed's and into an organization that is directly working to protect the things I hold valuable.



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[PNWTO]

I think a certain member just realized his error but pride won't let him humbly withdraw.

To the topic at hand, I personally would go for the SO Shelter as I feel it is the most versatile and can be enjoyed for the entirety of 12 months, geography depending.

 

[Trial153]

the truth of the matter is you can't go wrong with any of the memberships.


but I think the OP needs a Kimber...lol

 

[colonel00]

I think dotman laid it out pretty clear but think about it like this from my involvement with RMEF. A gun company, let's say named Timber, will give the RMEF a gun or guns at a discounted rate. Let's say they will give a rifle called the Fountain Descent to RMEF at a 20% price break. Since the Fountain Descent usually retails for $1000, the RMEF has to fork over $800 for the gun.

Now, the RMEF can choose to have the gun in an auction, or other banquet event or membership drive. Auctions don't get much anymore because everyone can look up the value of the gun and nobody would pay over $1000 for it at auction so the RMEF would only make $200 for conservation.

Next up would be some other banquet event. A simple example would be a limited draw. Let's say the RMEF sells 20 entries at $100 a piece. Not too bad as you have a 1 in 20 chance of winning a $1000 rifle and it only costs $100 to enter. With 20 paid entrants, the RMEF just made $1200 for conservation. This model is great but has limited reach as it can only happen once a year at a banquet.

Finally, the RMEF wants to do a membership driver. let's say their lifetime membership costs $500. They combine the lifetime membership with the Fountain Crescent rifle and sell the package for $1350. The RMEF gets a $500 membership plus a bonus $50 to use locally or donate to the mothership. The buyer gets a lifetime membership and Fountain Peasant for $150 cheaper than what it would have cost to purchase separately. And finally, Timber, the gun company probably gets some sore of deduction (Just guessing here) but they also get their product out in the hands of hunters and their name associated with the RMEF and conservation.

Now I will say this regarding the BHA deal, it's hard to really say what kind of deal is actually in play because they never state what the cost of the lifetime membership is without the added goodies. Looking up a couple things it looks like it's roughly $750 over the retail cost of the item/reward/goodie. My guess would be it's more towards $1K and you are getting $250 off the retail of the reward or something like that. To be honest, I don't know what a lifetime membership really gets you in "value" over just a yearly or 3-year membership. Since a yearly individual membership is $25, a $1k lifetime membership is equivalent to 40 years worth of annual memberships. I know it's not about the bottom dollar but it is a bit interesting if you break it down.

Oh, and to the OP, it's easy, I'd get a rifle...I think...maybe the 1911....pretty sure...don't really need another Cimarron...!#@!#@

 

[elkduds]

Writing as a fervent member of BHA, I understand part of what 5Miles is putting forth, and agree w it: That blindly accepting the integrity of any organization solely because it advocates for your views, is sheepish. Many get fleeced.

I would have selected another example to make this point, such as NRA. When you know where their biggest contributions come from, you will understand whose interest they serve. Follow the $ to the source.

If we are diligent in exploring what we are really supporting, we are less likely to get sheared.

 

[Jacob_Outdoors]

Well put elkduds.

This can be said about any organization. If you’re going to donate money, you should make sure you’re vetting the organization and it’s mission are representing what you think they do.

Nothing wrong with asking how your donation dollars are spent. This happened with Wounded Warriors a few years back, it was discovered they were paying over inflated salaries and expensing lavish million dollar parties for all of their staff. How many people donating to that organization thought they were helping veterans?


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[Trial153]

Vet any organization all you want. No one would argue that due diligence isn't appropriate. However what is inappropriate is the insertion of an opinion into this thread that this membership is an indication of waste and mismanagement of the organization. Why is it that inappropriate? Very simply it was not germane to the original poster's question.
What we have here was one person seeing opportunity to thump their chest and throw out their opinion and unsubstantiated assertions.
If that was the only thing they had to add to this thread then they should have remained silent or posted their own thread on that subject Otherwise they should have answered the original posters question and told him to get a rifle or tipi.

 

[TheCougar]

I’m leaning towards the rifle... the 12 man tipi has potential though, since I am supposed to do a fly-in Alaska Moose hunt...

 

[Jacob_Outdoors]

Sounds like you have more need for the shelter. I hope to find myself in your predicament within the next year with BHA

I recently picked up a .300WM for the “all purpose” rifle. It’s a great versatile caliber, but the shelter and stove combo has a lot of use as well.

I’m stating the obvious. But I guess you just need to sit down and figure out what will see more use over the next 5-10 years, or even you’re lifetime if you choose the rifle. Will you want a different style of shelter after your moose hunt? Will the gun serve more purpose in the long run?


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[durangobrad]

Id go with the shelter, your gonna want it for the fly in moose hunt. Your son can hunt almost anything with that .243.....

 

[jwatts]

What do you think of it? I’m not sold on the idea of tipi tents. They seem like a neat idea, but I have never felt like I needed one.

I haven't used it yet. I set it up in the yard and seam sealed it. It goes up easy and is light for the size.