Honestly, the internet can be a pretty wild place when a massive public figure suddenly leaves the stage. When the news broke that Charlie Kirk—the face of Turning Point USA—was assassinated at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, the digital world basically exploded. It wasn't just the shock of the event; it was the immediate, almost frantic rush to open wallets.
You’ve probably seen the headlines or stumbled across links for a GoFundMe Charlie Kirk campaign or a record-breaking GiveSendGo. But if you’re looking for where that money went, or which ones were even real, it gets a little complicated. Crowdfunding in the wake of a tragedy often turns into a bit of a "Wild West" scenario.
The Crowdfunding Chaos After September 10
Within hours of the shooting at UVU, fundraisers started popping up everywhere. It was a reflex. People wanted to do something.
Most of the "official" heavy lifting didn't actually happen on GoFundMe, though. While a few student-led GoFundMe pages appeared—some for a memorial statue on the Utah campus and others for a mural in Nebraska—the massive, multi-million dollar surge largely funneled through GiveSendGo.
Tucker Carlson’s team at ALP (the nicotine pouch brand) set up a campaign that hit roughly $4.7 million in no time. It actually broke records for the platform. It was weirdly fast. Like, record-shattering fast.
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But here’s the thing about the GoFundMe Charlie Kirk searches: GoFundMe itself has pretty strict rules about "high-risk" or highly political fundraisers. They did host a few, like the one started by Jonathan Waring to "Support the Kirk Family," but they were under a microscope. A GoFundMe spokesperson told reporters they were "swiftly reviewing" every single page to make sure the cash actually reached Erika Kirk and the kids.
Why People Were Actually Angry
Not everyone was hitting the "donate" button with a smile. A lot of folks on social media—Twitter/X, Reddit, you name it—were pointing out the obvious. Charlie Kirk wasn't exactly struggling for lunch money.
Reports at the time suggested his net worth was north of $12 million. He had a massive estate near Phoenix and a beach house in Florida. People were asking: “Why does a multi-millionaire family need a GoFundMe?” It’s a fair question.
On one side, you had supporters who said the money was a "vote of confidence" for his widow, Erika Kirk, who took over as CEO of Turning Point USA just a week later. On the other side, critics called it a "grift" to subsidize an already wealthy lifestyle. Honestly, both sides were yelling so loud you could barely hear the facts.
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The Competing Fundraisers
It wasn't just about the family. It became about the legacy.
- The Statue Fund: A guy named Dale Lee started a GoFundMe to put a memorial statue on the UVU campus. He wanted $150,000. It wasn't officially sanctioned by the Kirk family, which made some people nervous about where the "excess funds" would go.
- The Legal Defense Drama: Then there were the other GoFundMes. The ones for the "villains" of the story. Two sisters in Arkansas got arrested for vandalizing a Kirk memorial and turned to GoFundMe to pay their legal fees.
- The Firing of Johnathan Perkins: Most recently, in early 2026, a former UCLA official named Johnathan Perkins started his own fundraiser. He claimed he was fired for his posts about Kirk’s death and needed help "fighting for free speech."
The TPUSA Financial Rumors
While all these small-dollar donations were flying around, some bigger questions started surfacing about Turning Point USA's actual books. In late 2025, rumors of "financial impropriety" started circulating.
People were worried.
Was the money being stolen? Was there fraud? Erika Kirk eventually had to get a letter from the Treasury Department to prove that TPUSA wasn't under investigation. It turns out, Charlie was a bit of a stickler for audits. His producer, Blake Neff, went on record saying Charlie personally signed off on every single bill, right down to a one-dollar expense.
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What You Should Know Before Donating
If you’re still seeing links for a GoFundMe Charlie Kirk or related memorial funds, you’ve got to be careful. In the world of viral grief, scammers are everywhere.
First, check the "Verified" tag. GoFundMe is generally good at freezing funds if they can’t prove the organizer is actually connected to the family. Second, if you want your money to go to the mission rather than a personal bank account, the official TPUSA website is usually the safer bet. They have a specific "The Fight Continues" fund that is tax-deductible.
It’s kinda crazy how one event can trigger such a massive, messy financial footprint. Millions of dollars, dozens of competing pages, and a whole lot of internet shouting.
Actionable Insights for Navigating High-Profile Fundraisers:
- Verify the Organizer: On GoFundMe, click the organizer’s name. If they have no connection to the beneficiary (the Kirk family), it’s a red flag.
- Check the Platform: Note that the largest "official" funds for the Kirk family were hosted on GiveSendGo, not GoFundMe.
- Mission vs. Family: Decide if you want to support a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (TPUSA) for a tax deduction or a personal gift to a family (not tax-deductible).
- Search for Updates: Before giving to a "memorial statue" or "mural," search for local news in Orem, Utah or Norfolk, Nebraska to see if those projects were actually approved by the city. Many of these projects fail to get permits and the money just sits there.
The dust is still settling on the Charlie Kirk legacy, but the financial records are starting to tell a much clearer story than the social media rumors ever did.