Charlie Kirk Behind the Scenes: How Turning Point USA Raised Millions at Mar-a-Lago Gala

[00:06] so let's go through what we think should

[00:08] be on the slides for gall that's a good

[00:09] use of time okay founding father's

[00:11] Patriot Circle and then this okay has

[00:15] this been approved uh no I just we it's

[00:18] super easy to change so so this will be

[00:19] on screen

[00:20] before comes in so they can easily find

[00:23] their table right mhm do we do morning

[00:25] consult poll here instead of all these

[00:27] yeah I get i' get rid of this yeah it's

[00:28] to wordy for a Gala we want them to

[00:30] really feel something right we want to

[00:32] get them educated as quickly as possible

[00:34] with the highest impact because there's

[00:35] a lot of donors there that have never

[00:37] heard really what we do and it's an

[00:38] amazing opportunity to educate them

[00:40] right and I almost have to reset the

[00:42] whole night and be intentionally

[00:43] deliberate but not too long where it's

[00:45] you know I'm afraid this is becoming too

[00:47] this is a traffic jam is what I'm saying

[00:49] is after dinner it's going to be too

[00:50] much data and not watch this 5minute

[00:52] video okay I got here's what we got to

[00:54] do 10 things that you need to know about

[00:56] turning point USA okay and we just got

[00:58] to go through 10 wins and each one of

[00:59] those needs to be a powerful picture

[01:01] right like amfest CLS student body

[01:04] president and then I will do the sales

[01:07] from the stage this is where talk about

[01:10] the success of the podcast th000

[01:12] professors exposed our Dean list 85

[01:14] million combined followers okay go

[01:16] educating a generation of courageous

[01:18] patriotic principal leaders keep going

[01:20] okay there's something missing here

[01:22] larger chapters larger student Network

[01:23] larger impact on campus next slide yes

[01:25] got it that's fine yeah next next slide

[01:27] so much content isn't there guys holy

[01:29] cow get personal okay so you have done

[01:32] that with most of the people through

[01:34] yeah amen you like it I love it I think

[01:36] it's the best we've ever done like did

[01:38] you know we have the largest most

[01:39] effective minority outreach program in

[01:40] the movement you need to know that it's

[01:42] called blackit did you know that we have

[01:43] a professor watch list that names the

[01:45] names of these radical scumbags that are

[01:47] teaching our kids to hate Israel I'm

[01:48] trying to synthesize the 2hour

[01:50] presentation into literally 15 minutes

[01:53] you need to know yes 10 takeways 10

[01:55] takeaways right now there's like legit

[01:56] billionaires that are just coming

[01:58] they've never heard of us right theyve

[02:00] no idea they're like oh turning Point's

[02:02] just the kids like we need to get past

[02:03] that and then I would end with zadra and

[02:05] then I'll say you heard it Brandy zra me

[02:08] who followed us around and she said

[02:10] we're doing so much with our money well

[02:13] look at how one of the country's biggest

[02:14] Grassroots conservative groups is raking

[02:16] in some big bucks and using culture wars

[02:18] to flex their political muscle we're

[02:20] talking about turning point USA started

[02:22] by Charlie Kirk our team reporting that

[02:24] they brought in $55 million in the last

[02:26] fiscal year that's up 40% from the year

[02:28] before when turning point first started

[02:29] really focused on colleges and speaking

[02:31] events on the campaign Trail going after

[02:34] what they said were the quote unquote

[02:35] woke policies of progressive professors

[02:38] their scope though is much broader and

[02:39] much more diverse now you are going to

[02:41] leave with hope you're going to leave

[02:43] with energy and clarity about how

[02:44] Turning Point USA uh is moving the dial

[02:47] every single day we have the hardest

[02:49] working team in the country I will put

[02:51] that up against anybody I'll tell you

[02:53] you're going to be blown away by the

[02:54] pace by the sophistication by how we

[02:57] measure success and how we are really

[03:00] casting a vision to save the greatest

[03:02] nation ever to exist in the history of

[03:04] the world turning points expanded right

[03:07] they weren't just on college campuses

[03:08] anymore they were literally in the white

[03:10] house it's no wonder that we're talking

[03:12] so much about those issues right now

[03:14] turning point is very much to credit for

[03:16] some of that he's you know spreading his

[03:18] message on college campuses he's doing

[03:19] it well he's using social media one of

[03:21] the biggest problems is the Democrats

[03:23] really take young people for granted and

[03:24] they don't really understand what is

[03:26] happening on these college campuses they

[03:28] don't understand how persuasive these

[03:31] right-wing groups have become it can be

[03:33] very hard for a lot of us to argue that

[03:35] he's wrong and these kids are seeing

[03:37] that themselves and they are then

[03:39] turning to Charlie and turning point in

[03:41] these other groups and saying hey wait

[03:42] I'm with you guys because I believe in

[03:44] free speech you to be a Bernie Sanders

[03:47] reporter you are why I do what I do what

[03:49] are they doing with the money so much

[03:51] fundraising events Donald Trump has

[03:53] spoken at four of these events Millions

[03:56] goes to what they call their field

[03:57] program these are the boots on the

[03:58] ground and as for the future they're

[04:02] [Music]

[04:04] expanding Charlie what's your vision for

[04:06] tonight for yourself the vision is just

[04:09] to be in the

[04:12] moment embrace the uh the mystery I

[04:15] guess right embrace the magic yeah

[04:17] whatever whatever it is what do you

[04:20] expect your pacing to be what what level

[04:23] of pace on stage yeah you know it's a

[04:27] good

[04:28] question

[04:30] I have to really I have to reset my

[04:32] brain because even if donors rehear what

[04:35] they heard earlier in the

[04:36] day that's okay a lot of people have no

[04:39] idea all the work we do in that room

[04:42] what percentage of the people are in the

[04:43] room that weren't in business meeting

[04:45] 75% there you go yeah repetition is good

[04:50] [Music]

[04:51] yeah how you

[04:55] doing biggest fundraiser of the year uh

[04:58] super high pressure for the team team a

[04:59] ton of work as you guys know has gone

[05:01] into this the key is really going to be

[05:03] obviously identifying them working your

[05:05] area working the room um and not just

[05:08] being like Oh thanks got it but like

[05:09] really making them feel appreciated in

[05:12] that moment think of it as like an

[05:13] orchestra I end up being the grand

[05:14] Maestro right I kind of pick where we're

[05:16] going you know we're going here going

[05:18] there um and it gets to be a little bit

[05:20] crazy if you give them a sense of

[05:22] purpose and feeling and you guys help

[05:24] put on a show you guys could literally

[05:26] raise the organization Millions it could

[05:27] it could be the difference tonight it

[05:29] really

[05:32] [Music]

[05:49] welcome everybody it's great to see so

[05:51] many of you and uh welcome to now our

[05:54] sixth annual Gala here at maral Lago so

[05:57] let me show you 10 takeaways nobody

[05:59] works harder nobody pushes harder than

[06:02] turning point and nobody produces

[06:03] results like Turning Point USA 2024 I

[06:07] believe is going to be why Turning Point

[06:10] existed in the first place and I want to

[06:12] introduce a very good friend that wants

[06:14] to make an announcement I'm announcing

[06:16] for tonight a $5 million

[06:22] match in the spirit of Foster Freeze

[06:26] let's see if the room can match you I'd

[06:27] like to give 100,000 100,000

[06:30] $100,000 commitment tonight God bless

[06:32] you buzz $50,000 $100,000 $200,000 I'm a

[06:36] senior in college so I can't give a ton

[06:38] but I'd like to give $2,000 thank you so

[06:41] much that's really great isn't it

[06:43] $250,000 $200,000 $100,000 $500,000 wow

[06:48] Carol thank you so much $250,000 tonight

[06:51] and God bless you man a very humble

[06:53] Christian family here did not want to

[06:55] announce this themselves so I'm doing it

[06:56] for them they're going to do $1 million

[06:58] tonight they're in this room

[07:01] it's $250,000

[07:03] $75,000 $500,000 100 Grand action and

[07:07] 100 Grand a turning point we'd like to

[07:09] give $100,000 to action I want to close

[07:12] the gap to a million and uh another

[07:14] seven figure donation for year 2024 God

[07:17] bless you Fisher capital thank you guys

[07:19] every dollar is precious Flannery

[07:22] $2,000 $5 million thank you thank you

[07:26] thank you what you just did has given us

[07:29] the ammunition to go fight and win in

[07:32] 2024 thank you thank you thank you for

[07:35] the extraordinary

[07:38] generosity all right give yourselves

[07:40] guys a round of applause that was really

[07:42] great com um that was the longest match

[07:45] we've ever done right by far I really

[07:48] want to mention John you really did

[07:50] great John you worked your tail off and

[07:52] I really want to acknowledge you did

[07:53] really great

[07:55] so really everybody here played a huge

[07:58] role in what happen tonight okay I

[08:01] cannot thank you enough for staying up

[08:03] late all last night to get that investor

[08:06] presentation done right to getting all

[08:08] the slides there to making sure everyone

[08:10] was taken care of gritty and gutsy is

[08:12] the best way I can put it amfest is

[08:14] around the corner we have another

[08:15] investor presentation this Saturday all

[08:17] right oh my gosh I can't handle this

[08:19] well get over it okay huge win huge

[08:22] Victory I've never seen doners so

[08:24] comfortable with turning and we did it

[08:26] because we outwork everybody that's what

[08:27] we do and we we drive ourselves to

[08:29] Excellence and that standard of

[08:31] Excellence is what we do so I'm so

[08:33] thankful for you guys that took like

[08:35] pulling it out of your gut like fourth

[08:37] quarter and you're like exhausted and

[08:40] you got to play one more play and we

[08:41] kicked that field goal feels good to win

[08:43] guys yeah you to

[08:46] [Applause]

[08:52] [Music]

[08:56] be hey everybody how we doing

[09:00] you're about to embark on something that

[09:01] is much bigger than yourself so check

[09:03] your ego at the door this is not about

[09:04] you okay this is about

[09:06] us this is about the country okay it's

[09:09] about something way bigger than you now

[09:11] is the time for us to raise the standard

[09:14] of what we expect a turning point the

[09:16] eyes of the whole nation are again on

[09:18] turning point we did this back in July

[09:21] this will be at least double the size of

[09:24] what we had going on in

[09:26] July it starts right now

[09:30] we are here to work and we're here to do

[09:31] something beautiful and amazing America

[09:34] Fest is a celebration of all of you that

[09:36] work your tail off this last year this

[09:38] is a celebration of the viral videos the

[09:40] campus stor the celebration of those you

[09:42] guys that took that extra rede flight to

[09:44] get that extra chapter started Duty and

[09:47] obligation this is a culmination of

[09:50] months and months and months and months

[09:52] of work and so as soon as you step foot

[09:54] on this convention center it's about

[09:57] something bigger than

[10:01] you I think that's really good don't you

[10:04] I think we finally have it at a good

[10:05] place right yep yep yep yep you have

[10:07] what you need here paper line I'm almost

[10:10] I'm very close about 600 people still

[10:12] being checked in and Expo and VIP are

[10:15] pretty full too so and they start

[10:16] pushing it in once that countdown

[10:18] starts it's going to be pip everything's

[10:21] full except the bleach St it's great

[10:23] there's a I'm telling you they'll fill

[10:25] up as soon as it starts people will pack

[10:27] in yeah so at National Anthem and then I

[10:30] would go house music with just black y

[10:33] for about 3 to 5 minutes yep buy us

[10:34] another F that's the plan okay how's the

[10:37] room good almost there almost there

[10:40] Marina's in the back too and she's

[10:41] saying is pretty

[10:43] full we might just hit it right good job

[10:47] guys let's do it let's do it Lord bless

[10:50] this conference amen amen

[10:54] amen no one else could do what we're

[10:56] about to do today I want you to know

[10:58] that nobody else can do what we're about

[11:00] to do you guys are here for the right

[11:01] reasons you guys are not here for a job

[11:03] you're here to save the country okay and

[11:05] it all kind of comes down to today the

[11:06] Turning Point standard of Excellence the

[11:08] Turning Point attitude which is we're so

[11:10] glad that you're here how can I serve

[11:11] you how can I serve you how can I serve

[11:13] you how can I serve you how can I help

[11:15] you all day this is that drun it's

[11:17] bigger than you I want you to remember

[11:20] that it is bigger than you it's bigger

[11:23] than me you are here to have other

[11:25] people have lifechanging experiences you

[11:28] are here to make some else's life better

[11:30] in the pursuit of Liberty and freedom so

[11:32] I'm just thankful for you guys this

[11:34] would not be possible without all of

[11:37] you what makes this movement different

[11:41] is that you are here as a Grassroots

[11:44] response to the top- down Revolution

[11:46] happening in this country we demand a

[11:49] government that tells us the truth again

[11:52] in this country we want the truth

[11:55] freedom and America is worth fighting

[11:58] for you can only only beat them with the

[12:00] truth we are going to save this country

[12:03] we can win and we can save our country

[12:06] will you stand this is the beginning of

[12:09] Your Action take that risk take that

[12:12] leap of faith stay involved trust God

[12:15] and act obediently God bless you guys

[12:18] thank you so much for a wonderful couple

[12:19] days thank you so

[12:20] [Applause]

[12:27] much

[12:29] hello everybody can you hear me come on

[12:32] in all right well first give it up for

[12:34] you that we did it guys you did it that

[12:36] was

[12:39] amazing that that was uh that was

[12:42] something else wasn't it and I really

[12:44] want to just uh isolate the people that

[12:46] have been here very early and very late

[12:48] this is their their Super Bowl the

[12:50] events team give it up for the whole

[12:51] events team they've done such a great

[12:55] job I want to just say each and every

[12:57] one of you your spirit Spirit your

[12:59] energy Your Enthusiasm unbelievable get

[13:02] some rest everybody because coming back

[13:04] in early January uh you're going to need

[13:06] the rest uh 24 is going to be a year

[13:08] right it's going to be year and and so

[13:11] it's going to be a year across the board

[13:13] I cannot wait to see what God has in

[13:16] store for all of our programming guys

[13:18] from our tours to blexit to Turning

[13:20] Point Academy we have the people's

[13:21] convention please embrace the rest you

[13:24] have earned it okay that's my favorite

[13:26] word in the English language earn the

[13:29] way you guys conducted yourself I was

[13:32] very very proud to say this is what

[13:34] we're creating here that kind of

[13:36] Grassroots humility that hustle that

[13:38] grit the energy uh it's really really

[13:41] beautiful so when you guys go back know

[13:43] that you had a job well done and you've

[13:45] earned this rest enjoy it celebrate

[13:48] Christmas celebrate the new year and as

[13:50] 2024 comes turningpoint USA and turning

[13:53] point action our work is just getting

[13:55] started well done guys God bless you

[13:57] thank you so much

[14:00] [Music]

[14:09] w