Organizer of viral fundraiser for UNC frat 'rager' creating board to plan party, give to charities

John Noonan, the organizer of the campaign, told WRAL News Thursday that he’s creating an organization with a board that seeks to carry out the fundraiser’s primary goal. Funds are expected to also benefit yet-to-be-named charities.

“We are overwhelmed by the sheer force of patriotism on display,” Noonan said. “What started as a modest request to buy a few kegs for some great young guys has ballooned into an American cultural moment, with millions of people paying attention: blue and red, left and right, all of the above.”

The fundraiser was launched Wednesday, a day after pro-Palestinian protesters lowered an American flag on the Chapel Hill campus’s main quad, replacing it with a Palestinian flag. The American flag was ultimately raised again later in the day.

Noonan, a Washington, D.C., defense consultant who has advised moderate Republican presidential candidates on national security issues, is a frequent commentator on defense issues on social media. He isn’t affiliated with any of the fraternities mentioned in the campaign messaging, and he says he organized the fundraiser independently.

“We aren’t brothers ourselves,” he said. “Just Americans who admire young people like the men of UNC fraternities — members from at least eight different houses, by our count, many of whom we’ve now met.”

A spokesperson for Pi Kappa Phi, the original fraternity mentioned in the campaign, said the organization isn’t involved in the fundraising effort and hasn’t received money from the campaign.

Noonan’s fundraiser messaging reads like a parody, with references to clothing brands and alcoholic drinks often associated with fraternities.

“Amidst the chaos, the screaming, the antisemitism, the hatred of faith and flag, stood a platoon of American heroes,” says the website for the campaign, hosted through GoFundMe, an online fundraising service. “Armored in Vineyard Vines and Patagonia, fueled by Zyn and White Claws, these triumphant Brohemians protected Old Glory from the unwashed Marxist horde — laughing at their shrieks and wails and shielding the Stars & Stripes from Soviet missiles.”

The message ends with a request: “Help us raise funds to throw this frat the party they deserve, a party [worthy] of the boat-shoed Broleteriat who did their country proud.”

Noonan told WRAL News that he didn’t expect the campaign to catch on initially. But by late Thursday night, more than 15,800 people had donated at least $516,672 — well beyond its initial goal. A number of student organizations have since sought to get a piece of the proceeds, claiming to have been among the counter-protesters, he said.

The campaign planned to stop taking donations at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

“We've had our fun over the past 24 hours,” he said Thursday afternoon, before donations had exceeded the goal. “There is nearly half a million in the bank. That is plenty to throw a killer party and give to some great charities.”

Noonan says he quickly worked with lawyers to discuss how exactly to distribute the money.

“It’s incumbent on us to disburse the money in a manner that is faithful to our donors’ intent: throwing these great guys a world class party that will echo across eternity,” Noonan said in a statement. “Fraternities will also have input on sending funds to some great charities in their name, foundations consistent with the fundraiser's intent. An independent entity that will include a board of directors, as well as representation from the fraternity organizations themselves, will soon be established to keep true to donor intent."

Susan Ralston, a former special assistant to former President George W. Bush — who Noonan described as “a professional planner with long experience in managing complex events” — is among those planning the event. She’s expected to work with fraternities identified as being involved in the counter-protests, he said.

“Outreach has been made to both students and UNC officials to set a party date and venue,” Noonan said. “With graduation just around the corner, final exams in full swing, and continued drama on campus, we think it is best to take our time and plan this right.”