Public Interest Research Group
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| Motto | Standing up to powerful interests |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1971 |
| Founder | Ralph Nader[1] |
| Type | Advocacy organization |
| Website | uspirg |
Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) refers to a federation of U.S. non-profit organizations that employ grassroots organizing and direct advocacy with the goal of effecting liberal political change.[2]
Contents
History
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. Ross helped students across the country set up the first PIRG chapters, then became the director of the New York Public Interest Research Group in 1973.[3][4]
The Minnesota Public Interest Research Group, founded in 1971, was the first state PIRG to incorporate.[5] It was followed by Oregon (OSPIRG) and Massachusetts (MASSPIRG). The PIRGs were supportive of container deposit legislation in the United States, popularly called "bottle bills".[6]
In 1982, the PIRGs established the Fund for the Public Interest as its fundraising and canvassing arm.[4]
Funding model
PIRGs on college campuses have historically been funded with a portion of student activity fees in the form of a labor checkoff. Students may elect to have the fees refunded to them, although many students are unaware that this is the case. This system of PIRG funding has been met with controversy and with a number of legal challenges.[4] In 2014, students at Macalester College in Minnesota voted to end their relationship with MPIRG due to the group's revenue structure, which relied on MPIRG automatically receiving a cut of student activity fees.[5]
Policy positions
U.S. PIRG lobbied for the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent U.S. government agency which was founded as a result of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in the wake of the late-2000s recession and the financial crisis.[7]
The PIRGs have worked to make same-sex marriage legal, to increase the minimum wage, to enact increased environmental regulations, and to oppose Voter ID laws in the United States.[5]
Transparency rating
Charity Navigator rated the U.S. PIRG one out of four stars for accountability and transparency, and two out of four stars for financials.[8]
Affiliated nonprofits
Some PIRGs are members of a larger network of non-profit organizations called the Public Interest Network.[9] In 1992, the U.S. PIRG launched Green Corps, an environmental organization that trains recent college graduates in a one-year post-graduate program.[10] On November 5, 2007, Environment America separated from the state PIRGs and announced its intention to take control of the organization's national environmental advocacy program.
State affiliates
State PIRGs include:
- Maryland Public Interest Research Group
- Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group
- Minnesota Public Interest Research Group
- New York Public Interest Research Group
- Ohio PIRG
- PIRGIM (Michigan)
- Illinois PIRG
- MoPIRG (Missouri)
References
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