Ohio Public Interest Research Group Education Fund (Ohio PIRG) is the policy research arm of the advocacy group Ohio Public Interest Research Group Citizen Lobby, the Ohio state affiliate of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US-PIRG).

The Ohio PIRG Education Fund does policy research in areas of PIRG activism, publishing reports, blog posts, and news releases on issues ranging from environmentalism to voting initiatives. The education fund has linked to reports expressing public support for President Joe Biden. ¹

Founding and History

The first public interest research groups (PIRGs) were founded in 1970 in Oregon and Minnesota as student action groups, which were documented by Ralph Nader and Donald Ross in their 1971 book Action for Change: A Student’s Manual for Public Interest Organizing. ² Action for Change inspired the formation of PIRGs across the country, including the Ohio Public Interest Research Group, Inc. in 1975. ³

In 2002, the Ohio PIRG Education Fund was founded to manage the education aspects of the PIRG, ⁴ and in 2013 the Ohio PIRG Citizen Lobby officially replaced Ohio PIRG, Inc. in 2013 when the latter disbanded. ⁵

Reporting

The Ohio PIRG Education Fund issues reports on the issues and policies for which the Ohio PIRG lobbies. Reports cover issues such as product fixability, public transportation, and food recalls. They also have aligned with the policies of President Joe Biden. ⁶ In addition, the education fund publishes news releases on stories related to the PIRG areas of activism. ⁷

1. “Progress Report: President Biden’s First Year.” U.S. PIRG Education Fund. January 13, 2022. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://ohiopirgedfund.org/reports/usp/progress-report-president-biden%E2%80%99s-first-year
2. Nader, Justin and Ross, Donald. Action for Change: A Student’s Manual for Public Interest Organizing. [find date and publisher format]
3.  “Ohio Public Interest Research Group, Inc.” GuideStar. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/34-1165210#financials
4. “Ohio PIRG Education Fund.” GuideStar. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/34-1960773
5.  “Ohio Public Interest Research Group, Inc.” GuideStar. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/34-1165210#financials
6. “Resources.” Ohio PIRG Education Fund. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://pirg.org/ohio/edfund/resources/
7. “Media Center.” Ohio PIRG Education Fund. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://pirg.org/ohio/edfund/media-center/