[2] He was an Eagle Scout, graduated from Big Spring High School in 1974, and earned a degree in chemical engineering from Texas Tech University in 1978.
[8] Some of Dunn's wealth arose from acquiring cheap leases in the Permian Basin multiple years before the process of fracking allowed for the extraction of economical amounts of oil and gas.
[3] In 2006, he formed and became the primary financial backer of the conservative advocacy group Empower Texans[14][15][2] to fight a tax on investor-financed oil wells.
[9] Dunn serves on the board of the Community News Foundation, a media organization that publishes the Texas Scorecard.
[13] Dunn has given almost USD$10 million to the Defend Texas Liberty PAC, which spends its money challenging Republican incumbents it views as insufficiently conservative.
[2] As of August 2022[update], Federal Election Commission data showed that Dunn had made more than 300 political donations since 2008.
The group helped candidates win multiple Texas House primary races in open seats as well as in challenges against incumbents in 2024.
[9] Dunn co-founded the Midland Classical Academy, a nonprofit Christian school, where he is on the board of trustees[10] and was a volunteer assistant basketball coach.
[26] Dunn, who Forbes called "staunchly anti-abortion", funds adoption services and foster homes for over 300 children in West Texas.
[2] In a sermon, Dunn warned that Marxists "are increasingly becoming bolder and more brazen in their quest for tyranny" and that Christians need to oppose them.
[27] In 2018, Dunn wrote a book about the experience of losing her, Yellow Balloons: Finding Power To Live Above Your Circumstances.
[5] Terri and Tim Dunn live in Midland in a 6,000 square foot house, sharing land with some of their children.