NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the trade association for the firearms industry, is pleased to announce that it has selected five recipients to receive a portion of 2019’s $100,000 grant allotment provided by the NSSF Hunting Heritage Trust. The recipients of and the projects to which the grants will be applied include:

• National Wild Turkey Federation, $13,000 for the project “Increasing the Number of Women Shooters Who Participate in Hunting”

• Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, $25,000 for the project “Toolkit for Hunting Recruitment and Retention (to Increase Hunting License Buyers from Hunter Education Graduates”

• Georgia Wildlife Federation, $26,000 for the project “Continuation and Expansion of College Learn-to-Hunt Programs in Georgia”

• First Hunt Foundation, $16,000* for the project “First Hunt Foundation R-3 Program”

• Pheasants Forever, $20,000 for the project “Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Women on the Wing Initiative”

“Recruiting new hunters, keeping active hunters in the field pursuing the sport they love and bringing back to the fold those who haven’t been hunting in a while is critical to the preservation of this cherished pastime,” said Steve Sanetti, NSSF CEO. “We are excited by the depth and breadth of the programs each of these organizations has developed for these funds and are looking forward to the positive impact they will have.”

The 2019 grant funds are the first to be released from the $1 million fund established in October 2018 as the NSSF Hunting Heritage Trust. The grant was funded equally by NSSF and the Hunting Heritage Trust. This first-of-its-kind grant program works directly to support NSSF’s mission of promoting, protecting and preserving hunting and the shooting sports. It is designed to distribute funds for 10 consecutive years to organizations meeting eligibility requirements and intending to use the funds to support recruitment, retention and reactivation programs, known collectively as R3 efforts.

*The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation graciously matched the NSSF Heritage Hunt Trust funds awarded to the First Hunt Foundation.

About NSSF

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.

Media contact:

Bill Brassard

203-426-1320