When it was announced that Yeti was ending its relationship with the NRA Foundation, a non-profit arm of the NRA that supports 4-H, Boy Scouts, ROTC, and other outdoor activities, many said the company was damaging its relationship with the many hunters and gun owners within its customer base.
Former NRA president Marion Hammer went viral with a scathing letter, suggesting that by cutting ties with the charity arm of the nation’s largest gun advocacy group, Yeti had “declined to continue helping America’s young people enjoy outdoor recreational activities,” and that the move came “suddenly, and without prior notice,” and that “Yeti should be ashamed.” The letter was published on NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action website.
Since then, Yeti has come back to claim it did not single out the NRA and had ended its discount program with many entities, including The NRA Foundation. The company call Hammer’s letter “inaccurate,” and said that ”YETI is unwavering in our belief in and commitment to the Constitution of the United States and its Second Amendment.”
“A few weeks ago, YETI notified the NRA Foundation, as well as a number of other organizations, that we were eliminating a group of outdated discounting programs,” YETI said in a statement. “When we notified the NRA Foundation and the other organizations of this change, YETI explained that we were offering them an alternative customization program broadly available to consumers and organizations, including the NRA Foundation.”
In terms of Hammer’s assertion that Yeti was turning its back on America’s outdoor youth, “Nothing could be further from the truth,” YETI countered. “YETI was founded more than 10 years ago with a passion for the outdoors, and over the course of our history we have actively and enthusiastically supported hunters, anglers and the broader outdoor community. We have been devoted to and will continue to directly support causes tied to our passion for the outdoors, including by working with many organizations that promote conservation and management of wildlife resources and habitat restoration.”
