What are the names and IRS filings of political organizations tied to the Kirk family?
Executive summary
Public records show several tax-exempt entities using the “Kirk” name in ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer — including “The Kirk Family Foundation,” “Kirk Family Charitable Trust,” “Kirk Family Foundation Inc,” and the “Kirk Edwards Foundation” — each of which has IRS Form 990 returns available through ProPublica’s database [1] [2] [3] [4]. The IRS maintains a separate portal for Section 527 political-organization notices and periodic reports (Forms 8871/8872) but the supplied sources do not list specific Kirk-family 527 filings or identify which of these Kirk-named nonprofits, if any, have filed under Section 527 [5] [6] [7].
1. Names in the public nonprofit databases — what appears in filings
Multiple organizations that include “Kirk” in their names are listed in ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer: The Kirk Family Foundation, Kirk Family Charitable Trust, Kirk Family Foundation Inc, and the Kirk Edwards Foundation; ProPublica’s pages indicate these entries are built from IRS Form 990 data and link to available tax returns [1] [2] [3] [4]. Those ProPublica pages are reconstructed from IRS raw data and typically let researchers download copies of Form 990 filings processed by the IRS [4].
2. What the IRS portal covers — political organizations and 527 disclosure
The IRS runs a dedicated “Political organization filing and disclosure” portal where organizations governed by Internal Revenue Code section 527 file Form 8871 (initial notice) and Form 8872 (periodic reports). That site is the authoritative place to search for Section 527 notices and reports and to electronically view submitted filings [5] [6]. The IRS also publishes FAQs and instructions explaining when political organizations must file Forms 8872, 990, 990-EZ or 1120-POL [7] [8].
3. What’s in the available sources — gaps on “Kirk family” political ties
The supplied ProPublica entries document nonprofit tax returns for organizations with “Kirk” in their names but do not — in the provided snippets — say those organizations are Section 527 political organizations or whether they filed Forms 8871/8872 with the IRS. The IRS pages explain where to search for 527 filings, but the current reporting does not show specific Kirk-family 527 filings or identify political-action filing details for the named Kirk nonprofits [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]. Therefore, available sources do not mention whether the Kirk-named nonprofits have separate Section 527 political filings.
4. How to confirm political filings — steps a researcher should take
To confirm whether any Kirk-related group filed as a political organization, the IRS “Political organization filing and disclosure” search page should be queried for the organization’s exact name or EIN, because Section 527 filings (Forms 8871/8872) are lodged separately from annual Form 990 returns [5] [6]. ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer can be used to download Form 990 returns and see the charities’ financials and officers, but it does not replace the IRS 527 search for notices and reports [4] [1].
5. What the filings show and what they don’t — limits of the data
Form 990 filings disclose revenue, expenses and officers for tax-exempt nonprofits and are public records; ProPublica’s reconstruction of IRS 990 data is built from those documents [4] [1]. But the IRS also treats Section 527 political-organization notices and periodic reports differently: they appear in the separate 527 filing system. The current sources do not provide a crosswalk showing which — if any — Kirk-named nonprofits also maintained 527 filings, so claims tying a given Kirk nonprofit to political spending are not supported by the provided materials [5] [6] [7].
6. Competing interpretations and journalistic caveats
One reading of the available records is that multiple philanthropic entities bear the Kirk name and have public Form 990s to review [1] [2] [3] [4]. Another is that political-organization activity would be visible only through the IRS 527 portal and Form 8872 reports; the supplied sources do not show those specific 8871/8872 filings for the Kirk groups [5] [6]. Reporters should avoid conflating presence in the Nonprofit Explorer with proof of Section 527 political filings without checking the IRS 527 database directly [4] [5].
7. Next reporting actions — how to close the gap
Use the IRS “Political organization filing and disclosure” search to look up each Kirk-named organization by exact name and EIN to see whether Forms 8871/8872 were filed; download Form 990s from ProPublica to identify officers and finances; and, if necessary, request further IRS records or contact the organizations directly for clarification because the supplied sources do not disclose 527 filing status for these entities [5] [4] [1].
Limitations: This analysis uses only the supplied IRS and ProPublica sources; those sources list Kirk-named nonprofits and explain the IRS 527 filing system but do not show specific Kirk-family Section 527 filings in the material provided [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6].