The country’s second largest Friends of NRA dinner was hosted in New Jersey. 2026 is the third year in a row the team has delivered on organizing a record-breaking event.
John and J.J. Occhipinti are the father-and-son team behind the North Jersey Friends of NRA committee. The senior Occhipinti will be the first to tell you that he can’t do it without his team of several dedicated volunteers. While it’s true that these successful dinners are only made possible by the many people burning leather and hustling, it’s Occhipinti’s vision guiding them. Preliminary reports point towards 2026 shattering past records on how much money was raised during the Oct. 7 event.
The Friends of NRA program is the vehicle that the National Rifle Association uses to raise funds for its charitable and educational programs. Funds donated through Friends are tax deductible and they are placed into holdings of one of the Association’s 501(c)(3) charitable organizations.
Formerly, the money raised went to the NRA Foundation, however due to disputes and litigation with the sister organization, the Association says they now utilize one of two other (c)(3)s for their charitable work: the Patriot Fund and the Freedom Action Foundation.
The Oct. 7 dinner had more than 500 participants and was considered the second largest Friends dinner in the country. The final numbers have not been calculated, but Occhipinti says they may have doubled their net profits in 2026 over last year’s event.
“My feelings are I'm very happy, but I'm never satisfied,” Occhipinti told Bearing Arms. “We have to do better, and that's going to be my goal until they put that final nail in my box.”
He explained that last year they netted $80,000. “I don't know that exact number,” Occhipinti said. “It might be $150,000, might be $140,000, might be $160,000. I don't know, but we got to do better every year because it's important.”
Half of the funds raised in New Jersey through the Friends dinners go back to one of those (c)(3)s, and the other half stays in the state. Occhipinti said that the chairs of all the New Jersey dinners will be meeting soon to see what they netted and start reviewing grant applications. In the past they haven’t been able to fulfill every request, but recently, they’ve been meeting the demands and then some.
Occhipinti noted that they’re putting a big emphasis on supporting youth shooting programs in the Garden State. Organizations and shooting programs that could use the financial help, Occhipinti says should apply for a grant.
“It's very important — and really, it's on my heart — to have today's youth understand and get involved in this because today's youth are tomorrow's leaders,” Occhipinti said. “When old fogies like me and Sally and my other crew go, I hate to see what's going to happen if we don't have all these kids involved in this.”
Prior to the dinner, there was a VIP event hosted at Gun For Hire at the Woodland Park Range. NRA Director Anthony Colandro and his fellow co-owners of the facility donated the space for the “pregame” afternoon fundraiser. Since the Friends programs and dinners are apolitical, Colandro used this VIP event — not linked to the dinner — as a way to raise money for NRA Institute for Legislative Action.
NRA President Bill Bachenberg was the keynote speaker for both the VIP event and dinner. Also in attendance at both events were NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford and NRA Executive Director of Advancement Susannah Kipke. The Whittington Center’s larger-than-life advancement officer, Nate Brown, was in attendance too. Commerford, Kipke, and Brown delivered remarks at the ILA fundraiser.
The North Jersey Friends dinner is no ordinary event. There are 100s of these events across the country, but not many of them draw the number of members of the NRA Board of Directors as the Occhipinti dinner does.
Three of New Jersey’s four directors were present: Anthony Colandro, Theresa Inacker, and Amy Heath Lovato; two directors from Pennsylvania: Janet Nyce and Todd Ellis; and Ohio’s Amanda Suffecool, were all in attendance.
NRA State Director Joe LoPorto, a New Jersey expatriate who now lives in the Live Free or Die state, came down from New England for the evening’s proceedings. The State Director responsible for New Jersey, Darin Goens, made himself available for members at large to meet him at the dinner.
Besides the NRA muckety mucks being present, a host of New Jersey ranges, organizations, gun shops, FFLs, came to show their support for the shooting sports in the Garden State. Occhipinti lauded the unity he saw within the room. He noted it was heartwarming that there wasn’t the attitude of “me against you and you against me.”
“For that one night in New Jersey, there was a lot of different gun ranges, gun shops, FFLs in one room. There was no competition that night,” Occhipinti told Bearing Arms. “It was everybody fighting for the same cause, and man, that was beautiful. Yeah, you know, from where I was standing, and I was looking out, and I see guys like Anthony (Colandro) and Mark (Abady), two big ranges. They're shaking hands and they're breaking bread.”
Along with Colandro, Gun For Hire co-owners Richard Olenick and Matt Dancsecs, donated $20,000 combined from their personal accounts to NRA-ILA. The VIP event they hosted yielded about $6,000 from ticket sales and direct donations in addition to their own contributions.
Olenick said that between the firearms, gift cards and other swag, Gun For Hire donated about $25,000 in product for attendees. Colandro said they distributed 525 $25 gift cards good for use at their facility. Occhipinti said that Gun For Hire saved the planning committee over $7,000 in T-shirts alone.
Mark Abady, one of the co-owners of WeShoot in Lakewood, New Jersey brought a full cadre to fill a table. Co-owner Eli Bivas attended, as well as Sales Manager Vinny Bellino, instructor Heidi Bergmann-Schoch, and others from the WeShoot family. WeShoot donated the “Gun of the Year” which was auctioned off.
The overall mood and spirits of the evening were high.
“Events like this are why we do what we do. A room full of people who care about protecting our rights, supporting each other, and passing that on to the next generation,” Olenick said. “Gun For Hire is proud to stand with the NRA and the shooters of New Jersey, and we’re already looking forward to next year.”
“There’s something special about knowing personally 500+ Second Amendment supporters, reading their emails, sharing conversations, and seeing them throughout the year at our range,” Dancsecs told Bearing Arms. “But there’s an entirely different feeling when you see all of them during the same evening come together under one roof, united in support of each other and the freedoms we all cherish.
“This NRA dinner was truly something extraordinary, and we believe — once again — it may have broken records! The fight is real, but our unity is stronger than ever, and the support has never been greater.”
Colandro corroborated what his partners had to say about the event, observing the unity and activism by 500 patriots coming together is unprecedented. He also acknowledged the representation from the many New Jersey firearms-related businesses and how they showed their support — both by attending and financially.
“This is one more huge reason why you need to support those who support you!” Colandro told Bearing Arms. “I noticed Amazon and Ebay did not have a table at the dinner.”
Next year’s dinner is already penciled in for October. Occhipinti teased that there might be one in Ocean County in the spring, but that’s going to take a whole additional team to pull off. As far as the future, Occhipinti had a simple message: Bring someone next year.
“I could say one thing, I would like everybody who attended this year to sit back, take a minute of their time and think of someone who they think would enjoy that dinner or would benefit from that dinner,” Occhipinti said. “Who wasn't there at this year's dinner, and invite them next year, and we will go from 500 to 1,000 people overnight.”
To learn more about the Friends of NRA program and dinners, you can check them out online at: FriendsOfNRA.org/
Editor’s Note: Organizations like the NRA are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.
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