TPUSA chapters grow following founder's assassination

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(The Center Square) – One year after Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder and president, was assassinated at a Utah Valley University event, the conservative organization reports continued growth in its campus chapters. 

During an American Comeback Tour, sponsored by the Turning Point USA chapter at UVU in Orem, Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck and later died on Sept. 10, 2025. 

Following Kirk’s death, supporters gathered for candlelight vigils and memorial events on college campuses across the country to honor the conservative leader.

A one-year anniversary document provided to The Center Square by TPUSA Public Relations Administrator Lindsay Price details the organization’s reported growth during the 2025-26 school year.

The organization reported 3,500 Club America high school clubs, a 180% increase from the previous school year, and 1,500 college chapters, up 64%. Over a million students are involved with the organization, according to the document.

Founded by Kirk in 2012, the Phoenix-based Christian organization TPUSA advocates for conservative policies on college and university campuses and at high schools.

In 2025, Texas officials sought a partnership with TPUSA to establish chapters on every college and high school campus throughout the state, The Center Square previously reported.

TPUSA also reported that more than 12,000 churches and pastors have joined its TPUSA Faith network.

Attendance at the organization’s 2026 Chapter Leadership Summit surpassed 2,500, double the 2024 summit. More than two-thirds of attendees said they became involved with TPUSA after Kirk’s death. 

Across all Turning Point organizations, the group reported more than 1,200 employees and more than 1 million donors. More than 95% of donors contributed less than $1,000, according to the document provided to The Center Square. 

TPUSA describes its mission as preserving America’s traditional values and the principles of the country’s founding.

“We believe that the American experiment remains the clearest demonstration in history that a free people — operating under the underlying principles of America’s founding, Western Civilization, and Christian values — can generate prosperity, liberty, and peace,” the mission statement says. 

On Thursday evening, TPUSA will host a “Freedom Built to Last Memorial” on the Utah Valley University campus to commemorate Kirk.

The Center Square reached out to various university chapters for comment but did not receive a response in time.