Turning Point USA

Turning Point USA is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk. Its stated mission is “to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.” The IRS ruling date on its record is July 2014 (EIN 80-0835023); for the 2023 tax year it reported total revenue of $81.7 million and total assets of$20.2 million.

Structure and reach

TPUSA describes its work in three stages — identify, educate, organize — and reports a presence across more than 6,200 high school and college campuses, communities and faith communities, with over 900 college chapters and over 1,000 student-led Club America chapters. It runs conferences and campus tours alongside its chapter network, and separate Faith and Education programmes.

A separate 501(c)(4) organization, Turning Point Action, was founded by Charlie Kirk in 2019 and carries the electoral and rally-based work that a charitable entity cannot.

Leadership

Charlie Kirk was founder and president. Following his assassination in September 2025, his wife Erika Kirk was appointed chief executive and board chair of Turning Point USA, and also leads Turning Point Action.

Relevance to digital political discourse

TPUSA’s account of its own reach is built substantially on online distribution: it describes “powerful online media” as one of its organizing tools, and runs shows, documentaries and a contributor programme from its own site. Its own biography of Charlie Kirk states that his social media accounts reached over 100 million people a month, that Axios listed him among the “top 10 most engaged” accounts in the world, and that The Charlie Kirk Show podcast passed 120 million downloads in a single year, was syndicated on 150 radio stations, and was simulcast on Real America’s Voice. These are the organization’s own figures.