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Turning Point USA

American conservative youth nonprofit founded in 2012

Organization details

Founded
2012
Legal name
Turning Point USA, Inc.
Tax status
501(c)(3) educational and charitable nonprofit
EIN
80-0835023
Founders
Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery
Current leader (Nov. 2026)
Erika Kirk, chief executive officer and board chair
Distinct affiliated entity
Turning Point Action, a separate 501(c)(4) organization

Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is an American conservative nonprofit that organizes student outreach, campus chapters, public events and advocacy-oriented educational programs. Its stated priorities include free enterprise, limited government and civic participation. Founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery, it developed a national youth network and a large conference and media operation.

Founding and expansion

Kirk and Montgomery founded the organization in 2012 while Kirk was 18. TPUSA grew through high-school and college campus outreach, speaker events and the annual AmericaFest conference. Charlie Kirk led it until his death in September 2025; its board selected his widow Erika Kirk as CEO and chair on September 18, 2025.

The organization publishes its own figures for campus membership and outreach. These are organizational claims, not independent membership audits. IRS tax filings identify its nonprofit finances, leaders and related entities for individual fiscal years.

Legal and political structure

Turning Point USA is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3), EIN 80-0835023. Turning Point Action, organized in 2019, is a distinct 501(c)(4) group permitted to engage in a different scope of political advocacy. They must not be treated as the same legal entity, or their financial and electoral activities conflated. TPUSA also operates campus, faith and leadership programs.

Media and public activity

The organization hosts conservative speakers and media figures. The 2023 AmericaFest speaker programme listed Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Donald Trump Jr. and Ben Carson. A conference appearance is evidence of participation, not proof of employment, financing or control.

Independent reporting documents fundraising involving prominent Republican supporters. Financial claims about a particular donor or grant should be traced to a dated tax filing, contract or other primary record before a financial relationship is entered as fact.

References

  1. Turning Point USA — Leadership and organization
  2. Turning Point USA — FAQs / legal entities
  3. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer — Turning Point USA filings
  4. ProPublica — Turning Point financial reporting and founding
  5. ABC News — Board selects Erika Kirk, September 18, 2025
  6. Turning Point USA AmericaFest 2023 speaker programme
  7. Washington Post — Charlie Kirk obituary and founding history
  8. The Guardian — former TPUSA activism and Portland reporting

Research assembled from sources available as of November 13, 2026. Correctly dated records take priority over later summaries. Unresolved relationships are omitted from public-facing narrative.

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Documented connections

These are specifically described relationships in public records. A shared institution, appointment or event does not by itself demonstrate coordination or wrongdoing.