Turning Point USA, the nation’s leading advocate for conservative values in high schools and colleges, took a chance on expanding during two years of COVID-19 shutdowns, and it paid off big time as donations, revenues, and influence jumped, according to financial documents.
In turning 10 years old this year, the Arizona-based nonprofit group increased the number of chapters by 50% over the last two years and pushed donations to over $55 million, up from $39 million in 2020, according to IRS documents provided to Secrets.
And along the way, TPUSA and its political arm, Indiana-based Turning Point Action, which saw contributions surge from $2 million to $11 million from 2020 to 2021, dished out over $20 million in grants to groups.
Said Charlie Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA straight out of high school, “We took a risk, we didn’t listen to the media’s fear and paranoia narrative, and we were rewarded for that.”
While many nonprofit advocacy groups shut down during COVID, Kirk said he traveled 305 days to promote conservatism, free markets, and fiscal responsibility to young groups, helped to expand the number of chapters in schools to 3,000, started a network of private “pro-American” schools, built a donor base of 105,000, and created Turning Point Faith to include church leaders and groups.
ONE MONTH until @TPAction_ hosts President Donald J. Trump at #SAS2022! ? ☀️ ??
Get your tickets TODAY ⬇️https://t.co/QbX4yacdZc https://t.co/2TkMbKUAKr
— Turning Point USA (@TPUSA) June 29, 2022
As in past years, the advocacy of TPUSA and Turning Point Action were met with liberal criticism when the two groups raised questions about the coronavirus and pushed for an end to mandates. Their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, rally near the White House has also drawn fire, as has their association with conservative favorite Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
But Kirk brushed aside the criticism and saw the national shutdown during the virus as an opportunity.
“We made a decision as a team that through COVID, we were going to double down on everything. We are going to hire more staff. We are going to do more outreach to donors, we are going to still host events. We didn’t accept the premise, and some people thought we were totally nuts. We were attacked by a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons. And it turns out our big bet during COVID paid off,” said Kirk.
Notably, his organizations did not take government PPP funding like most nonprofit groups, colleges, and mainstream businesses.
“We saw it as a massive opportunity,” Kirk told Secrets of the crisis.
With its success and fattened bank account, Kirk said that TPUSA plans to expand further this year to put homeschoolers under its umbrella, expand its focus on high schools, and host a pastors summit.
Later this month, Turning Point Action will host some 5,000 students at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, where several national activists, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, will speak. Turing Point Action endorsed Trump in 2020, and Kirk sometimes teamed with Donald Trump Jr. at events.
As for the numbers, TPUSA showed it ran a tight ship. Kirk was paid $307,000 in 2021, up slightly from the year before, and earned another $98,000 from Turning Point Action. That’s less than some other Washington nonprofit influencers. Together, both groups also have about $16 million in assets.
