Topline
Turning Point USA raised nearly $400 million under Charlie Kirk, with support from billionaires and secretive donor-advised funds—but its largest direct backer is a little-known Texas foundation that gave $13.1 million, and has not been reported until now.
Charlie Kirk speaking on stage at America Fest 2024 in Phoenix. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Turning Point USA raised $389 million from its founding in 2012 through mid-2023, according to its tax returns.
In its first year, Turning Point USA brought in just $79,000, but a decade later—after Kirk had become a conservative star—annual contributions had soared 1,000-fold to $80 million.
Turning Point USA’s first contribution, $10,000 from fund manager Foster Friess, came after Kirk met him at the 2012 Republican National Convention, and Friess ended up backing the group for years, with his widow pledging $1 million to launch new chapters after Kirk’s death.
The Wayne Duddlesten Foundation, founded in 1981 by a late Houston real estate developer, is the largest direct donor in IRS records, giving $13.1 million—Duddlesten’s backing of Turning Point USA does not appear to have been reported previously.
Other major backers include foundations tied to the late advertising executive Jack Roth ($8.7 million), the late Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus ($7.1 million), Franklin Templeton’s former CEO Charles B. Johnson and his wife Ann ($4.6 million), Dunn Capital founder William Dunn ($4.5 million) and Waste Management founder Dean Buntrock ($4.1 million).
Other billionaire-linked foundations that backed Turning Point include those associated with ex-Marvel chair Isaac Perlmutter, tech entrepreneur Darwin Deason, shipping-supply magnate Richard Uihlein, grocer John Catsimatidis, the late former Univision chair A. Jerrold Perenchio and sandwich-chain founder Jimmy John Liautaud.
Key Background
Kirk was 18 when he founded Turning Point USA in 2012 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to educate students about fiscal responsibility, free markets and limited government, according to its mission statement. The group says it has field representatives at 3,300 high schools and colleges, hosts regional and national events and holds pastors’ summits and faith courses to equip “believers across the nation with the Biblical, historical, and constitutional knowledge…to take a bold stand for liberty and God’s kingdom.” Donations to it are tax-deductible. While Turning Point USA’s tax returns do not identify its donors, many names can be gleaned by searching for “Turning Point USA” in ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer, a compendium of millions of publicly available returns filed by tax-exempt organizations. Turning Point USA listed three related tax-exempt organizations on its 2023 tax return: the Turning Point Endowment; Turning Point Action, a social-welfare organization that spent $1 million backing Donald Trump’s 2020 unsuccessful re-election bid; and America’s Turning Point, Inc., which focuses on educating students. (Donations to those groups were not included in this analysis.) As founder, president and CEO, Kirk was the public face of the organization, hosting a daily radio show and podcast, writing six books and making more than 1,000 appearances on TV news shows, according to Turning Point USA. Kirk was on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2018. His compensation from Turning Point USA in 2023 totaled $390,000.
In its first year, Turning Point USA raised just $79,000, but a decade later—after Kirk had become a conservative sensation—annual contributions had soared to $80 million.
Google Sheets/IRS Data
What We Don’t Know
The identities of many donors are unknown. Contributions from individuals to charities are typically not made public. Additionally, many donations to Turning Point USA are through donor-advised funds—such as DonorsTrust, the Bradley Impact Fund or Fidelity Charitable—that pool money from contributors and are legally controlled by the fund, not the individual donor. Because the donor-advised fund, not the individual, shows up in IRS filings, the original donor’s identity is hidden. That structure is legal and common across the nonprofit sector, but it limits transparency. The Bradley Impact Fund, for example, has funneled $23.6 million to Turning Point USA since 2014.
How Will Turning Point Usa’s Finances Fare Post-Kirk?
While interest in Turning Point USA soared in the wake of Kirk’s death—the group says it received more than 62,000 requests in eight days from students wanting to start chapters or get involved with existing ones—it remains to be seen if Kirk’s successor, wife Erika Kirk, will be as effective a fundraiser. She’ll be trying to do this as one of Turning Point USA’s biggest backers, the Wayne Duddlesten Foundation, winds down in 2026.
What To Watch For
Turning Point USA’s tax year ends on June 30, and it typically files its return in mid-May of the following year. If it sticks to that schedule, it won’t submit a tax return that reflects contributions raised after Kirk’s death until May 2027. It could then be a few more months before that information becomes public.
Crucial Quote
“Thank you for taking a brief moment of your busy schedule to donate to Turning Point USA,” says the organization’s donation page in 2015. “It is only through the generosity of people like you that will allow us to spread our message of fiscal responsibility and stopping generational theft.”
Big Number
$5 million. That’s the amount raised by Turning Point USA’s political action committee, Turning Point PAC, according to records with the Federal Election Commission. Major donors included casino mogul Steve Wynn, hedge fund manager Thomas Klingenstein and private-equity investor John Childs. Turning Point PAC has spent much of its money on event production not related to federal elections. It also paid $246,000 to Winning Team Publishing, co-founded by Donald Trump Jr., in the three months after it released one of Kirk’s books (the PAC claimed the funds were for hats).
News Peg
Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10 while debating audience members at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, at a stop on his American Comeback Tour. On Tuesday, Utah County prosecutors charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with Kirk’s murder and said they would seek the death penalty. Prosecutors alleged Robinson, who turned himself in, confessed to the shooting in online messages. Turning Point hosted a memorial service for Kirk in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, where speakers included President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Tangent
In 2024, the Federal Election Commission fined Turning Point Action $18,000 for failing to disclose $34,000 in contributions.
Further Viewing
Further Reading
Who Was Charlie Kirk? Trump Credited ‘Turning Point USA’ Founder With Swinging Youth Vote (Forbes)
Charlie Kirk’s Books And Podcasts Top Charts Following Assassination (Forbes)
Man Arrested After Charlie Kirk Shooting Falsely Claimed He Was The Shooter, Utah Sheriff Says (Forbes)
Nearly 100 Democrats Approve Resolution Honoring Charlie Kirk (Forbes)
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