Hooray for consumer fireworks and for your NFA!  Because of a wonderful year in the Consumer Fireworks market YOU are in a wonderful position to help your NFA.  The NFA is the defender and advocate for all thing’s fireworks. We are here for you and we need you NOW more than ever.  While the consumer fireworks industry had a banner year, our brethren in the professional fireworks industry had a very difficult year with excessive show cancellations. It is time for those of us that were so fortunate to step up so the NFA can continue to be a strong advocate for everyone in the fireworks industry and for fireworks safety, fireworks availability, fireworks usage, and fireworks popularity.  Fireworks are the stitches that hold the fabric of our patriotism together and as members of the NFA we must join together now at such a critical time.

While COVID-19 eliminated the NFA’s Expos as our primary source of funding, it provided a source of relief needed for your NFA.  We need to fill this hole, sooner rather than later.

Because of a record-breaking year in which you sold your fireworks in droves you are now in a position to significantly donate to your NFA.  And by doing so you can reduce your tax burden and keep your money working for you to preserve your business.

This is even more necessary because of what happened on November 3rd.  With a new Administration changes will be coming at key federal agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Department of Transportation (DOT), which affect us all.

To recognize participants’ desire to take part in this great opportunity, we have created an aggressive fundraising program.  These new opportunities will allow you to receive additional NFA benefits while helping to reduce your tax burden.   More importantly these programs will provide the necessary funding to protect your business and ensure that it has a prosperous and continued future.  Keeping your NFA Strong and giving it the ability to efficiently fight for your business and future income affords you continued success.

Become a critical part of the largest fireworks advocacy organization on earth and be proud to show your support to all your fellow members.  We will let them know and the industry will know who to support by seeing who stands strong for this industry, together as one, for everyone’s benefit.

Our minimum immediate goal is $350,000 which will keep the NFA at the fighting level it needs to be.  This is necessary more now than ever. The time to act is now, before the end of the year, so you can get the tax relief you want benefiting you directly.

Here is what’s at stake!

Over a three-and-a-half year period your NFA spent $1.2MM fighting the metals ban in consumer fireworks, tariff relief, national industry public relations and an aggressive social media campaign resulting in tremendous success, and that does not take into account the countless volunteer hours spent working on the issues and in meetings in Washington, DC. Your NFA won on all fronts resulting in significant betterment of our fireworks industry and our members directly. We won!  It was money well spent and that needed to be spent as we faced “death” in the face and defeated it. As members, you received the rewards while the NFA paid the bills.

The resources were there and were used for the fight because for 19 years the NFA and members saved, scrimped and stockpiled Expo income and intermittent donations just in case of such an emergency.  Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of another 19 years to get our reserves back up.  We won the battle, but the war continues. The next fight is right around the corner.

With a 2-2 split at the CPSC it appears that President-elect Biden will have the chance to appoint a democrat to the commission who may be the next Chairman.  This will make the majority of the CPSC democrat.  We know how this story goes. A CPSC that is anti-consumer fireworks.  We need to rebuild the war chest now and stay at the forefront of this in Washington or our industry will be in jeopardy

Remember when a CPSC Commissioner told all of us at our Expo that it was her job to put us all out of business?  Well, we are facing that reality and it may happen again. History does repeat itself. And folks, the metals ban, or worse, could return in other well-funded plans to demolish consumer fireworks for the masses and take us back to the years where 500-gram cakes and 60-gram artillery shells didn’t exist.

Further, shipping issues in China have become a real trouble spot that is forcing the NFA to take action.  We have been talking with our counterparts in China and there is a real need to get our U.S. Trade Representatives in Washington involved and to bring our resources to bear overseas to ensure that fireworks 1) keep moving our way out of China and 2) do so with reasonable peak season surcharges.  Without a change here we may find ourselves with inadequate consumer fireworks inventory for July 4, 2021 and none of us or the millions of patriotic American who buy our products want to see that happen!

We do not want to raise our membership dues to do these things. The founding principle of the NFA was to include everyone. We do this with low, affordable membership dues. We fight for the independents as well as for importers. We are inclusive and do not want to exclude anyone based on financial capacity.  Large or small we are here for all and that is what makes us so critically important. But we need our members to reach down and step up to make our mission succeed.

Make your stand and we will let everyone in the industry know where your interests lie.  Be proud of your business and be proud of your NFA. We are facing serious challenges without you and the NFA together as one.

At your service,

Your NFA Board:

Steve Houser, President
Garry Hanson, Vice-President in memoriam
Bob Kellner, Treasurer
Scott Smith, Secretary
Nancy Blogin, Executive Director
Mike Romano, Director