How much has Turning Point USA received from dark money groups and LLCs since 2016?

1. What the sources actually document — named big donors and time windows

The Guardian reporting cited names and amounts linked to TPUSA donors across multi‑year windows: the Bradley Impact Fund is listed as giving $23.6 million from 2014–2023; Donors Trust nearly $4 million from 2020–2023; and the Deason Foundation close to $1.8 million from 2016–2023 ^[1]. These are discrete, source-attributed line items that illuminate major contributions but do not by themselves equal a complete accounting of all dark‑money or LLC routed support since 2016 ^[1].

2. Why a single “since 2016” number is missing in these sources

None of the provided items publish a consolidated total labeled “dark money and LLC contributions to TPUSA since 2016.” OpenSecrets is referenced as the primary database for outside spending and dark‑money tracking tied to TPUSA, but the supplied OpenSecrets pages in the search results describe the tool and donor-tracing functionality rather than presenting a single compiled 2016–present figure in the excerpts provided ^{[2] [3]}. Wikipedia and SourceWatch note large donor influence and that TPUSA has relied on megadonors and vehicles that can obscure identities, but they too do not present a single summed total for 2016–present in the excerpts here ^{[4] [5]}.

3. What “dark money” and LLCs mean in the coverage

The sources frame “dark money” as donations routed through nonprofits, donor-advised funds, or LLCs that can shield the original giver’s identity; reporting and watchdogs cited in the excerpts argue TPUSA benefitted from such vehicles used by conservative megadonors to stay out of the limelight ^{[1] [4]}. Wikipedia’s dark-money coverage explains the broader trend—after Citizens United and through the 2016 cycle, shell LLCs and non‑disclosing groups became increasingly common—context that explains why tracking a single total for TPUSA is difficult ^[6].

4. Legal and watchdog disputes that complicate totals

Turning Point Action, TPUSA’s political arm, has been the subject of complaint and scrutiny for donor disclosure practices; watchdogs like CREW have accused it of “leaving the public in the dark,” and litigation and regulatory shifts since 2016 have altered what must be reported, further complicating retrospective accounting ^[7]. The Guardian cites watchdog voices who say megadonors use donor‑advised funds and other dark‑money vehicles to hide identities, which implies that some contributions may not appear clearly in public IRS or FEC records used by reporters and databases ^{[1] [7]}.

5. What you can reliably add up from these sources and what remains unknown

From the documents provided you can cite the named donor figures: Bradley Impact Fund $23.6m (2014–2023), Donors Trust nearly $4m (2020–2023), Deason Foundation ~$1.8m (2016–2023) as reported by The Guardian ^[1]. Available sources do not mention a definitive, independently verified total of all dark‑money and LLC‑routed donations to TPUSA since 2016; the OpenSecrets links are the appropriate next step for assembling a more complete ledger but the supplied snippets do not contain that compiled number ^{[2] [3]}.

6. How to get a fuller answer (next steps and caveats)

To assemble a near‑complete total, researchers must combine: (a) nonprofit IRS Form 990s and TPUSA financial filings; (b) OpenSecrets’ outside‑spending and donor records tied to TPUSA and Turning Point Action; and (c) investigative reporting that traces donor‑advised funds, LLC filings and intermediary grants. The sources point to those databases (OpenSecrets) and to investigative reporting (The Guardian, watchdog groups) as the path forward, but those resources must be queried directly for the 2016–present timeframe because the excerpts provided here do not contain a summed figure ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

Limitations: this analysis uses only the excerpts and documents you provided; available sources do not mention a complete aggregated total for “dark money” and LLC contributions to TPUSA since 2016 in these materials ^{[1] [2] [3]}.