GOAL Club Affiliation Program

Thank you for your interest in affiliating your club with Gun Owners’ Action League and supporting our Second Amendment rights.  Many clubs throughout Massachusetts, and even a few out-of-state clubs, have already affiliated. If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Snow, GOAL’s Chief of Staff.

Club Affiliation

Affiliated clubs will receive a new updated plaque (Affiliate level excluded) to show their affiliation with GOAL. The plaque will have 12 sectioned spaces for clubs to display status/year tabs.  When the club has filled up the tab plaque, another one will be given to them upon request.  The club’s affiliation status is determined by the amount of affiliation dues sent in each year.

Affiliation Benefits

Affiliation benefits are given as an incentive. The higher the affiliation, the greater the benefits. 

Club Affiliates receive:

• A membership card and certificate to show affiliation. (You will not receive year tabs or a plaque at this level.)

• A 1-year subscription to ^The Outdoor Message.

• Free listing on GOAL’s Club Locator Service on our website.  (For this service, you need to provide us with a completed Club Locator form to create the listing.)

• Bonus: Nominate a Club Representative.  This has to be someone in the club who is a current GOAL member in good standing.  The Club Representative will receive a free monthly newsletter called Lock, Stock & Barrel.  The Club Representative will also have the opportunity to sign up for special activist email alerts and join a protected online forum to discuss ideas and issues with other Club Representatives.

• Free quarterly 8½” x 11” public service announcement posters.

• Free GOAL speakers for your club functions upon request and availability.

• Free membership applications upon request.

Club Associates receive:

• A dated plaque to show affiliation with GOAL and display year tabs. 

• A 1-year subscription to ^The Outdoor Message.

• Free listing on GOAL’s Club Locator Service on our website.  (For this service, you need to provide us with a completed Club Locator form to create the listing.)

• Send one delegate from your club free of charge to GOAL’s Annual Club Seminar.

• Free quarterly 8½” x 11” public service announcement posters.

• Bonus: Nominate a Club Representative.  This has to be someone in the club who is a current GOAL member in good standing.  The Club Representative will receive a free monthly newsletter called Lock, Stock & Barrel.  The Club Representative will also have the opportunity to sign up for special activist email alerts and join a protected online forum to discuss ideas and issues with other Club Representatives.

• Free GOAL speakers for your club functions upon request and availability.

• Free membership applications upon request.

Club Sponsors receive: 

• A dated plaque to show affiliation with GOAL and display year tabs. 

• A 1-year subscription to ^The Outdoor Message.

• Free listing on GOAL’s Club Locator Service on our website.  (For this service, you need to provide us with a completed Club Locator form to create the listing.)

• Send two delegates from your club free of charge to GOAL’s Annual Club Seminar.

• Free GOAL speaker for your club functions upon request and availability.

• Bonus: Nominate a Club Representative.  This has to be someone in the club who is a current GOAL member in good standing.  The Club Representative will receive a free monthly newsletter called Lock, Stock & Barrel.  The Club Representative will also have the opportunity to sign up for special activist email alerts and join a protected online forum to discuss ideas and issues with other Club Representatives.

• Free quarterly 11” x 17” public service announcement posters.

• Free Club Representative Manual

• Send your Club Representative free of charge to the Annual Club Representative Seminar.

• Send one club member to a free Range Safety Officer course (subject to availability).

• Free membership applications upon request. 

Club Patrons* (100% GOAL Clubs) receive:

• A dated plaque to show affiliation with GOAL and display year tabs. 

• Special 100% membership plaque.

• A 1-year subscription to ^The Outdoor Message.

• Free listing on GOAL’s Club Locator Service on our website.  (For this service, you need to provide us with a completed Club Locator form to create the listing.)

• Send two delegates from your club free of charge to GOAL’s Annual Club Seminar.

• Free GOAL speaker at club functions upon request and availability.

• Bonus: Nominate a Club Representative.  This has to be someone in the club who is a current GOAL member in good standing.  The Club Representative will receive a free monthly newsletter called Lock, Stock & Barrel.  The Club Representative will also have the opportunity to sign up for special activist email alerts and join a protected online forum to discuss ideas and issues with other Club Representatives.

• Free quarterly 11” x 17” public service announcement posters.

• Free Club Representative manual and business cards.

• Send your Club Representative free of charge to the Annual Club Representative Seminar.

• Send two club members to a free Range Safety Officer course (subject to availability).

• Have your club’s news printed in ^The Outdoor Message free of charge.  (This alone is worth it!)

• Free membership applications upon request. 

*Special Note: To participate as a Club Patron (100% GOAL Club), your club must require that all members of the club are current members of GOAL. We suggest that the members show you proof of membership with GOAL at the time of their dues payment or that you collect GOAL applications/renewals at the time of dues payment. Senior Life Members may be excluded from this requirement. 

Renewing Your Club Affiliation

You will receive a one-year affiliation from the month that we receive your affiliation form.  For example, if you send in your form in December 2004, your 1-year affiliation would run through December 2005.  If you send it in May 2005, your new expiration date would be May 2006. This gives all clubs a full year and a chance to have their affiliation coincide with their annual meeting. 

Year tabs will be determined by the month you affiliate with GOAL. Clubs that affiliate between January and August will receive the current year tab.  Clubs that affiliate September thru December will get the following year tab. For example, if you affiliate in February 2005, you would get a 2005 year tab.  If you affiliate in October 2005, you would get a 2006 year tab.  

Renewal notices are sent out on a monthly basis.  Depending on your renewal date, you will receive your first renewal notice approximately 2 months prior to renewal.  We will send out a second reminder notice about one month later to clubs that have not yet renewed.  The final notice will arrive six months later for clubs that pass their expiration date.  In total, you can receive up to three notices for renewal. 

Recruiting GOAL Members 

Signing up a new member is easy.  Have the member fill out an application and send it in with payment.  That’s it!  We can provide pre-printed applications to you or you may design an application to suit your club’s needs.  Using a list format is fine as long as print is legible and big enough to read (no smaller than 10 pt.).  Please be sure to include the following if you choose to use your own forms – Name, Mailing Address, Home Phone. 

This brings us to the membership drive, another benefit to GOAL affiliation.  By placing your club’s name and ID number on the bottom of an application as a sponsor, your club gets points for each new member you recruit.  These credits can be used towards GOAL merchandise or free memberships.  You will not receive points for a renewing member unless that member had been expired for more than one year.  The point system is as follows:

Each year, we will send you a notice to let you know how many points you have accumulated and give you the chance to redeem them for merchandise.

Note:  Please send in all applications or renewals as you receive them, especially ones that have checks written to GOAL.  We only have a limited number of days to cash these checks before they are no longer valid.

Club Information

It is very important that we have contact information for your club.  Our database records are confidential and we do not sell or share personal information about any of our members. We need to be updated when there is a change in the club officers - President, Secretary, and Club Representative. Another person we would like to know about is a contact for junior shooters.

All clubs should have a Club Representative.  This person’s job is to be the liaison between the club and GOAL.  This person would be the one that GOAL would contact for meetings, seminars, shoots, etc. and the one who would report any GOAL information to the other members of the club.

In the past, we have had a few problems matching affiliation forms or correspondence letters to clubs because they came back blank.  Your member number is how we keep track of you in our database.  Please make sure to put your club’s membership number on all responses (applications, affiliation forms, letters, etc.). You can find your ID number listed on the address label.  It is the first 6-digit number above your club’s name.  If you lose your ID number or just simply can’t find it on the address label, please call the GOAL office and we will be more than happy to give it to you.

And last, but not least, a couple of words on seminars.  Advanced registration may be required for some seminars due to limited seating or supplies.  Please call ahead or send in registration forms as early as possible.  Any seminars that require a fee must be paid in advance.  If you are going for “free,” please call ahead to reserve seating.  Notices will be sent in advance with specific information about registration or payment.

Other Benefits

In addition to all of the many benefits already explained, GOAL works with clubs on other projects like the Lead Shot Initiative, a land stewardship program.  For more information on this program, please contact Jon Green, Director of Education and Training, at the GOAL office.

Do you have junior shooters at your club?  Speak to Jon Green about setting up a junior program or team.  Each year, The GOAL Foundation sponsors a number young shooters to participate in the national competitions held at Camp Perry.  GOAL also sponsors the Eddie Eagle program for younger school-aged children.

Who do you talk to about candidates running for state representative or senator in your community? Speak to Jim Wallace, Director of Legislative Affairs.  Jim works with political candidates and currently seated legislators every day trying to restore our gun rights.  He is our watchdog on Beacon Hill who keeps us up-to-date on pending legislation.  Jim also handles setting up the GOAL booths that you may see at many local gun shows and various club events.

To contact the GOAL office, call (508) 393-5333

or write to: GOAL, PO Box 567, Northboro, MA  01532