Who founded Turning Point USA and when?

1. Founding facts: who and when

Contemporaneous profiles and encyclopedic listings state that Turning Point USA began in 2012 and attribute its founding primarily to Charlie Kirk, who launched the organization about a month after he graduated from high school, with Bill Montgomery playing a key early role ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

2. The Kirk‑Montgomery relationship: mentor, co‑founder, or something else?

Accounts note Bill Montgomery as Kirk’s mentor who “handled the paperwork” and encouraged Kirk to pursue political organizing; some sources describe Montgomery as a co‑founder while others say the organization did not officially recognize him as such even though he later described himself that way ^{[1] [2]}. That divergence—TPUSA and Kirk’s public materials emphasizing Kirk as founder while Montgomery publicly characterized himself as co‑founder—shows how “founder” labels can vary by source ^[1].

3. How TPUSA and Kirk present the origin story

TPUSA’s own pages and team biographies foreground Charlie Kirk as the Founder and President of Turning Point USA and frame the organization as a student movement he started and grew ^{[4] [5]}. Those organizational materials present a clear, singular founding narrative centered on Kirk ^[4].

4. Independent and journalistic coverage of the founding

Encyclopedic and media outlets including Wikipedia, C‑SPAN descriptions, and longform profiles repeatedly identify 2012 and Charlie Kirk (with Montgomery involved) as the origin, often noting Kirk’s youth—he was about 18 when he launched the group ^{[1] [2] [3] [6]}. PBS’s profile tracks the growth from a campus‑focused project launched by an 18‑year‑old into a national conservative youth movement ^[7].

5. Why the exact phrasing matters: “founder” vs. “co‑founder”

The difference between labels matters for credit, legal history, and public perception. TPUSA and Kirk’s public materials consistently call Kirk the founder ^{[4] [5]}. Independent sources document Montgomery’s early administrative and mentorship role and quote him referring to himself as a co‑founder, while noting that the organization’s official recognition of that status is ambiguous ^{[1] [2]}. Readers should treat both versions as part of the record: Kirk as the primary public founder; Montgomery as an influential early backer and self‑described co‑founder ^{[1] [2]}.

6. Broader context: rapid growth and controversies after founding

Reporting traces TPUSA from its 2012 founding to a large national operation with thousands of campus chapters and substantial fundraising; that growth made Kirk the public face and chief fundraiser, roles emphasized in multiple profiles ^{[4] [2] [7]}. Independent watchdog and reporting outlets also document controversies tied to staff statements, political activity, and fundraising, indicating that the organization’s origin story is one piece of a larger, contested public record ^{[8] [7]}.

7. What the available sources do not settle

Available sources do not mention any formal legal document (such as the initial 501(c)^[9] filings) in this collection that explicitly lists founders or provides the exact internal designation of “founder” versus “co‑founder.” They also do not include primary formation papers here to conclusively resolve any organizational recognition of Montgomery’s status beyond contemporaneous reporting and interviews (not found in current reporting).

8. Bottom line for readers seeking a short answer

If you need a concise citation: most public reporting and TPUSA’s own site identify Charlie Kirk as the founder and date the organization to 2012; Bill Montgomery is widely noted as an early mentor and has been described by some sources as a co‑founder who helped with paperwork ^{[1] [4] [2] [3]}.

Sources: TPUSA materials and multiple news/encyclopedic profiles summarized above ^{[1] [4] [2] [8] [3] [7]}.