Notable members and alumni
Ohio Public Interest Research Group (Ohio PIRG) is a non-profit organization that is part of the state PIRG organizations. It works on a variety of political activities.
In the United States, Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) are non-profit organizations that employ grassroots organizing, direct advocacy, investigative journalism, and litigation to affect public policy. [1]
Ohio PIRG's mission is to deliver persistent, result-oriented public interest activism that protects our environment, encourages a fair, sustainable economy, and fosters responsive, democratic government. [2]
The PIRGs emerged in the early 1970s on U.S. college campuses. The PIRG model was proposed in the book Action for a Change by Ralph Nader and Donald Ross. [3] Among other early accomplishments, the PIRGs were responsible for much of the Container Container Deposit Legislation in the United States, also known as "bottle bills." [4] [5]
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes, and for being a perennial presidential candidate. He became famous in the 1960s and 1970s for his book Unsafe at Any Speed, which criticized the automotive industry for its safety record and helped lead to the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966.
Public Citizen is an American non-profit, progressive consumer rights advocacy group, and think tank based in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1971 by the American activist and lawyer Ralph Nader.
Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) are a federation of U.S. and Canadian non-profit organizations that employ grassroots organizing and direct advocacy on issues such as consumer protection, public health and transportation. The PIRGs are closely affiliated with the Fund for the Public Interest, which conducts fundraising and canvassing on their behalf.
The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) is a New York statewide student-directed, non-partisan, not for profit political organization. It has existed since 1973. Its current executive director is Blair Horner and its founding director was Donald K. Ross.
Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG) is a non-profit organization that is one of the largest of the state PIRG organizations. It works on a variety of political activities, including textbook trading on college campuses. They also provide internships and work study jobs for students on Massachusetts college campuses. Along with the Massachusetts Service Alliance, MASSPIRG helped to create Massachusetts Community Water Watch, an organization that works specifically on environmental politics. Student funding of MASSPIRG has been criticized at several schools where students wish to see MASSPIRG funding cut, citing that the mandatory fees do not effectively contribute directly to any cause on campus, and are a complication to students forced to pay "already tedious" tuition fees.
Maryland Public Interest Research Group (MaryPIRG) is a student activist non-profit organization and one of many State PIRGs. The organization works on a variety of local activist activities, including environmental activism, textbook trading on college campuses, democratic reforms, control of antibiotics in food products, and help for the homeless. They also provide internships and work study jobs for students at the University of Maryland.
James Packard Love is the director of Knowledge Ecology International, formerly known as the Consumer Project on Technology, a non-governmental organization with offices in Washington, D.C., and Geneva, that works mainly on matters concerning knowledge management and governance, including intellectual property policy and practice and innovation policy, particularly as they relate to health care and access to knowledge.
The Fund for the Public Interest is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that runs the public fundraising and canvassing operations for politically liberal nonprofit organizations that advocate for issues such as environmental protection, consumer safeguards and public health in the United States. FFPI was set up in 1982 as the fundraising arm of the Public Interest Research Group (PIRGs). The Fund has faced lawsuits and complaints over its labor practices.
Texans for Public Justice(TPJ) is an Austin-based non-profit group founded in 1997 to take on political corruption and corporate abuses in Texas, United States. Their early focus was on tracking campaign contributions in Texas and elsewhere, including contributions to George W. Bush's campaign in the 2000 and 2004 US presidential elections. The group lodged the original complaints which led to the now overturned conviction of former US Representative Tom Delay, as well as former Texas Governor Rick Perry's August 2014 felony indictment.
The Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG) is a public advocacy group prominent in Connecticut politics. Founded by politician and consumer advocate Ralph Nader and future Congressman Toby Moffett in 1970, CCAG seeks to promote social, economic, and environmental justice. Past leadership included Miles S. Rapoport, who led the group from 1979 to 1984.
Environment Oregon is a political non-profit organization in the U.S. state of Oregon, that lobbies for legislation in regard to environmental policy on local, state and national levels. It is affiliated with Environment America, a federation of environmental organizations in thirty states. Based in Portland, Oregon, it has more than 35,000 members throughout the state. It is also partnered with the Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center, its sister 501(c)(3) organization.
Action for a Change. A Student's Manual for Public Interest Organizing is a 1971 book written by consumer advocate Ralph Nader with Donald K. Ross, Brett English, and Joseph Highland. The book serves as a manual for college students establishing Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), and chronicles the formation of PIRGs in Oregon and Minnesota.
Philip David Radford is an American environmental leader serving as Chief Strategy Officer of the Sierra Club, and who served as the executive director of Greenpeace USA. He was the founder and President of Progressive Power Lab, an organization that incubates companies and non-profits that build capacity for progressive organizations, including a donor advisory organization Champion.us, the Progressive Multiplier Fund and Membership Drive. Radford is a co-founder of the Democracy Initiative, was founder and executive director of Power Shift, and is a board member of the Mertz Gilmore Foundation. He has a background in grassroots organizing, corporate social responsibility, climate change, and clean energy.
Environment America is a federation of state-based environmental advocacy organizations in the United States. The organization researches and advocates for environmental policies through lobbying, litigation, and the mobilization of public support. Environment America advocates new laws and policies to address climate change, air pollution and water pollution, and is a proponent of clean energy, while opposing offshore drilling.
Donald Kemp Ross was an American public interest lawyer. Ross proposed the model of Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGS) with Ralph Nader. Ross became the first director of the NYPIRG. He helped to found the Albany law firm of Malkin & Ross, and its associated advocacy organization M+R Strategic Services. He has served on the board of directors of environmental organizations.
Illinois Public Interest Research Group is a non-profit organization that is part of the state PIRG organizations. It works on a variety of political activities, including childhood obesity, reducing the interest on student loans, and closing tax loopholes.
Missouri Public Interest Research Group (MoPIRG) is a non-profit organization that is part of the state PIRG organizations.
Public Interest Research Group in Michigan (PIRGIM) is a non-profit organization that is part of the state PIRG organizations.
Green Corps is an environmental organization in the United States that trains recent college graduates in a one-year post-graduate program in grassroots community organizing. During the program, Green Corps organizers learn in the classroom and are deployed in the field to work on campaigns.
Ontario Public Interest Research Group is a decentralized network of local Public Interest Research Groups located in the province of Ontario, Canada.