   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. ==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 (nypirg) in 1973. the minnesota public interest research group (mpirg) was the first state pirg to incorporate, on february 17, 1971. it was followed by oregon (ospirg) and massachusetts (masspirg). among other early accomplishments, the pirgs were responsible for much of the container deposit legislation in the united states, also known as "bottle bills". there are now state pirgs in nearly 30 states. most states are affiliated with uspirg, but mpirg and nypirg are not, in order to remain grassroots organizations. in addition, the state organizations sponsor a national lobbying office in washington, d.c. u.s. pirg, the federation of state public interest research groups, is the network of independent, state-based, citizen-funded organizations that advocate for the public interest. the pirgs employ nearly 400 full-time staff, including organizers, attorneys, and policy analysts. ==issues== at the national level, the pirgs campaign around the following issues: * stopping the flow of special interest money in elections; * closing corporate tax loopholes; 
Consumer_rights_organizations Non-profit_organizations Public_Interest_Research_Groups Research_non-governmental_organizations