Green Amendments For The Generations (GAFTG)

Background

Green Amendments For The Generations was launched after the 2013 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in Robinson Township v. Commonwealth, which revived Pennsylvania’s environmental rights clause in a case challenging the natural gas industry and influenced the group’s strategy of pursuing bill-of-rights-level protections in state constitutions. The organization received 501(c)(3) status in 2019 and is based in Bristol, Pennsylvania. The group was founded by Maya K. van Rossum, who also leads the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and claims credit for coining the term “green amendments” in a 2017 book. ^{1 1 2}

Activities

Green Amendments For The Generations develops and promotes model constitutional language, provides organizing toolkits and trainings, and coordinates with state-level coalitions to introduce and advance Green Amendment proposals. According to its materials, Green Amendment campaigns or exploratory efforts have been active in more than a dozen states, with Pennsylvania, Montana, and New York currently identified as states with such amendments that are being used in litigation and policy debates. ^{3 4}

Green Amendments For The Generations also engages in litigation support. The group has filed or joined amicus briefs in cases interpreting state environmental rights, including New York landfill and air-pollution disputes and Pennsylvania proceedings related to greenhouse-gas regulation and land-use authority. ³

Green Amendments For The Generations’ 2023 annual report notes that the group was focused on passing green amendment legislation or ballot measures in Connecticut, Hawaii, Delaware, and Florida. ⁴

The group is also among dozens of groups that comprise the Pennsylvania-based Better Path Coalition, left-of-center environmental activist organization formed to oppose natural gas fracking and other conventional energy industries in Pennsylvania. ⁵

Grantmaking and Funding

Green Amendments For The Generations is funded primarily by contributions and foundation grants. The group’s 2023 revenue totaled $415,140 with year-end net assets of $310,026, according to the organization’s tax forms. ⁶

Funders of the group include the Wallace Genetic Foundation II and Wallace Global Fund II, foundations tied to the legacy of former Franklin Roosevelt administration Vice President Henry Wallace, as well as the Cloud Mountain Foundation, Wege Foundation, Clif Bar Family Foundation, Lush Charity Pot, New Earth Foundation, Greenwatch Institute, Park Foundation, the Harriette Steelman Tabas And Charles L. Tabas Foundation, and the Foundation for Sustainability and Innovation. ^{7 8 9}

Leadership

Green Amendments For The Generations is led by founder and CEO Maya K. van Rossum, a Pennsylvania-based environmental lawyer who also runs the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. Van Rossum authored The Green Amendment and is the public face of green amendment campaigns throughout the United States. ^{10 1}