The Property Rights Foundation of America (PRFA) is a nonprofit organization that advocates for private property ownership and property-use rights, as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. PRFA provides resources and information to citizens, policy makers, and the media regarding government abuses of private property owners’ civil rights, especially as those related to environmental policy and zoning. Based in New York, PRFA provides organizational support to grassroots organizations on a local, regional, and national basis. ¹

As of July 2023, the Property Rights Foundation did not appear to be active, as its last tax return was filed in 2018 and its website was inactive. ²

Activities

The Property Rights Foundation sponsors events, publishes a journal and quarterly newsletter, and works with grassroots organizations throughout the country in an effort to support private property rights. PRFA’s Annual New York Conference on Private Property Rights is held near the New York State Capitol and brings together leading experts on topics relevant to property rights activists and policy leaders. ¹

The Property Rights Foundation publishes the New York Property Rights Clearinghouse, a quarterly newsletter featuring analysis of property rights issues in New York and the northeastern United States. PRFA also publishes Positions on Property, which began as an exposé of the regulations for land use in New York, and included charts, maps, diagrams, and pre-zoning plans. Positions on Property went on to cover regulations across the U.S. and called attention to land-use controls like UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, National Heritage Areas, and conservation easements. ¹

Funding

Property Rights Foundation of America is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While PRFA does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from Chicago Community Trust ($6,000 in 2017) ³ and DonorsTrust ($2,000 in 2017). ⁴

Board of Directors

Carol LaGrasse is the founder and president of the Property Rights Foundation of America. LaGrasse is a retired civil engineer who has presented testimony before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate on private property rights. ⁵

Patricia Callahan is president and general counsel at the American Association of Small Property Owners. Callahan formerly worked as director of congressional and intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Commerce. ⁶

Marilyn Hayman is the president of Citizens for Responsible Zoning and Landowner Rights. ⁷

Keith Klingler is the president of the Pennsylvania Landowners’ Association and sits on the Pennsylvania Sewage Advisory Committee. ⁸

Lawrence A. Kogan is the CEO of the Institute for Trade, Standards, and Sustainable Development. ⁹

Edward C. Krug is a former director of environmental projects at the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow. ¹⁰

John McClaughry is founder and vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute, president of the Institute for Liberty and Community, former chair of the board of the Schumacher Center for a New Economics, and a former Republican member of the Vermont House of Representatives and Vermont State Senate. ¹¹

George McGowan is a former Republican councilman for the town of Lake George, New York. ⁷

Thomas A. Miller is a cofounder of the Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers. ⁷

Robert J. Smith is a distinguished fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the director of the Center for Private Conservation. Smith formerly worked as a consultant to the Department of the Interior, a special assistant at the Environmental Protection Agency, and as director of environmental studies at the Cato Institute. ¹²

Other board members include Arlene P. Hanson, Margery B. Pinkerton, and Leon Somerville, Jr. ⁷

1. “About Us.” Property Rights Foundation of America. Archived from the original August 12, 2021. Accessed July 14, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20210812111246/https://prfamerica.org/About_Us.html.
2. “Property Rights Foundation of America Inc.” ProPublica. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/141768127.
3. Chicago Community Trust, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2017, Schedule I, Part II.
4. DonorsTrust, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2017, Schedule I, Part II.
5. “Carol LaGrasse.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-lagrasse-b8784910/.
6. “Pat Callahan.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/pat-callahan-94575a80/
7. “Board of Directors.”  Property Rights Foundation of America. Archived from the original August 14, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20210814114759/https://prfamerica.org/BoardMembers.html.
8. “Meet the Board.” Pennsylvania Landowners’ Association. Accessed July 17, 2023. http://www.palandowners.org/meet-the-board.html.
9. “Lawrence A. Kogan.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-a-kogan-03747a1b/.
10. Krug, Edward C. “Save the Planet, Sacrifice the People: The Environmental Party’s Bid for Power.” Hillsdale College, July 1991. Accessed July 17, 2023. https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/save-the-planet-sacrifice-the-people-the-environmental-partys-bid-for-power/.
11. “John McClaughry.” Center for New Economics. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://centerforneweconomics.org/people/john-mcclaughry/.
12. “Robert J. Smith.” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://cei.org/experts/robert-j-smith/.