Fundraising efforts ramp up to open new chapters of influential far-right group as Kirk’s widow takes over as CEO

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”.