Donations for Turning Point USA pour in after founder Charlie Kirk’s death

The powerful fundraising operation that rightwing activist Charlie Kirk led to build the influential college group Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is receiving a wave of support from large donors and Donald Trump allies since his murder, which suggests the group will remain a major force on the American right, campaign finance experts and consultants say.

New backing and appeals for help to sustain TPUSA have come from, among others, Lynn Friess, the widow of mega-donor Foster Friess, who was Kirk’s first major backer when he formed his campus-focused Republican group in 2012 at the age of 18. Friess pledged $1m to TPUSA days after the 31-year-old’s killing.

In an email to friends and allies on the right, Friess wrote on 14 September that her donation was to support a surge in “new TPUSA chapters springing up across the country … helping this incredible movement grow even stronger”.

Far-right former Fox News star Tucker Carlson, who was close to Kirk and appeared at some TPUSA events in recent years, also sent out a fundraising appeal to help sustain TPUSA, while Dallas multimillionaire Doug Deason has indicated he plans to increase his already hefty backing for the group.

Kirk’s success roping in big donors, many of whom remain anonymous, is apparent in its rapid growth according to tax filings, In 2024, Arizona-based TPUSA reported raising $85m, or more than double the $39m it hauled in during 2020.

Such hefty financing has helped TPUSA expand its presence on college campuses. At the time of Kirk’s murder, TPUSA boasted 900 college chapters and 1,200 high school chapters.

The group’s spokesperson, Andrew Kolvet, told Fox News on 14 September that they had received 54,000 inquiries about launching new chapters.

Republican consultants and campaign finance experts say Kirk’s fundraising prowess was powered by his strong links with Trump and Maga world.

Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona-based Republican consultant, told the Guardian: “Charlie was an extraordinary fundraiser with deep ties to President Trump and his son Don Jr. He is a big loss to them and they will be scrambling to fill that void.”

Coughlin added that TPUSA is “generating a lot of content which lionizes Kirk. They’re doing that to raise money and organize kids on college campuses. They’re trying to figure out how to continue the mission of Kirk.”

Another Republican veteran consultant likewise noted: “Kirk became the Pied Piper of fundraising with mega donors because he had strong relationships with the president and the vice-president.”

The mega donors who have backed TPUSA since its founding are a who’s who of leading donors on the right, according to tax records.

Major contributors to TPUSA include the dark-money behemoth the Bradley Impact Fund, which in the years from 2014 to 2023 gave TPUSA a whopping $23.6m dollars; the dark-money Donors Trust gave almost $4m dollars from 2020 to 2023; and the Deason Foundation donated close to $1.8 million dollars from 2016 to 2023.

TPUSA’s cachet with big donors benefitted too from hosting some events at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. And in the 2024 elections the group’s political arm, Turning Point Action, raised and spent tens of millions to help get out the vote for Trump in a few key states including Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin, all of which Trump won.

On 18 September, the TPUSA board tapped Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, who worked closely with him the last few years, to take over the reins at TPUSA, noting that it was her husband’s wish that she succeed him if he died.

Longtime campaign finance watchdogs foresee more hefty donations for TPUSA, at least in the near term in the wake of Kirk’s killing.

“It’s not surprising TPUSA is receiving strong financial support in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Kirk built a very successful fundraising machine that was all in on supporting President Trump’s candidacies and his attack on the 2020 election loss,” said Larry Noble, the former general counsel at the Federal Election Commission.

“It appears some of Kirk’s wealthy backers are making large contributions to show their respect and keep TPA well-funded. Other supporters are responding to Kirk’s murder by fundraising, and many appear to be using it as an opportunity to fuel broad attacks on Democrats, the left, and anyone who criticizes Kirk’s legacy,” Noble added.

Deason, who is on a TPUSA advisory board, said in an email: “Charlie was already a legend before his assassination. Now he is a martyr. TPUSA is not and never was about Charlie. It was always about the issues of freedom to discuss and debate freely in the town square and in classrooms without fear of reprisal, freedom to worship our Lord openly and proudly, and securing the concept of our constitutional republic in the minds of our youth. Now there are millions of new advocates for the cause. We will always support the TPUSA team.”

Deason told CNN that the day after Kirk’s murder he awoke to a long text chain from other contributors to Turning Point USA in which everyone indicated plans to double their donations to the group to boost their coffers. “Every one of us said: ‘Yes, I’m in,’” Deason said.

Historically, TPUSA and Kirk capitalized on their Maga ties to expand well beyond their campus origins, where they first carved out a niche on the right with high-decibel attacks on left-leaning professors who they put on a “watchlist”, and campus events to promote rightwing agendas.

To broaden its influence further, TPUSA in 2021 launched Turning Point Faith to push a conservative culture war agenda and build more alliances in conservative religious circles.

Kirk also became a rising star at the secretive and influential Council for National Policy, where longtime conservative political and religious leaders hobnob with and hit up big donors at closed-door meetings a few times yearly.

TPUSA’s tight Trump ties sparked criticism after Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election, when Kirk echoed some of Trump’s false claims that his loss was due to fraud.

Turning Point Action, the political arm of TPUSA, worked with about a dozen other groups to support Trump’s January 6 “Stop the Steal” rally that brought busloads of Trump allies to DC for the event that preceded the Capitol attack.

Kirk faced other criticism in some Republican circles and from Democrats for trafficking in misinformation and conspiracies on issues including Covid vaccine mandates.

For instance, Kirk authored text messages in 2021 that warned Joe Biden is “sending goons DOOR-TO-DOOR to make you take a covid-19 vaccine”.

Kirk’s influence in Maga world expanded in other ways including via the Salem Radio Network, a Christian right operation that for several years featured the popular Charlie Kirk Show on weekdays.

After Kirk’s murder, JD Vance, who was close to Kirk, who he credit with helping him get his vice-president slot, hosted Kirk’s podcast from the White House in a tribute to Kirk that included guests such as Carlson and the White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller. Vance also used the podcast to charge with dubious evidence that “leftwing extremism” is “part of the reason” Kirk was killed, and vowed a crackdown on “festering violence” from “far-left” groups.

Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged with Kirk’s killing, was involved in a romantic relationship with a person transitioning from male to female. In a note to his partner found after Kirk’s death, Robinson reportedly wrote that “he had enough of his hatred” and that “some hate can’t be negotiated out”.

Looking ahead, campaign finance watchdogs and Republican veterans say that for now, TPUSA’s fundraising prospects and future look strong.

“For years, conservative mega-donors have been opening their wallets to fund TPUSA, often using donor-advised funds and other dark-money vehicles to keep their identities out of the limelight,” said Michael Beckel, the research director at Issue One, a bipartisan group that seeks to reduce the influence of big money in politics. “TPUSA’s influence looks like it will only grow in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.”

Longtime Republican strategist and consultant Charlie Black said: “Charlie Kirk leaves behind thousands of trained organizers, as well as experienced middle management. Their major donors are stepping up to give, raise and pledge millions more for Turning Point.” Black added that Kirk’s widow “is stepping up to lead and seems to be very capable for the task”.

More broadly, Coughlin predicts: “The sanctification of Kirk will serve as a turnout mechanism for younger voters in the 2026 election cycle. His reputation amongst young conservatives and social media influencers was nearly unmatched and the Trump team will benefit greatly by constant references to their close relationship with Charlie.”