Fundraiser & Grant Writer (Volunteer)

Tech Tools for Justice is a 501(c)3 organization seeking a highly motivated, well-spoken individual committed to fighting for housing justice to assist with fundraising and grant writing for the Landlord Mapper initiative. This is a unpaid volunteer position with the possibility of becoming a paid position depending on the success of the fundraising plan.

Please send your resume, cover letter, and start date availability to: contact@landlordmapper.org

To confirm receipt of your application, please feel free to reach out via text message: (708) 576-1535

Read more about the initiative and explore the site here: http://landlordmapper.org/about/

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ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION / INITIATIVE

Landlords tend to hide their identity from both the tenants and the general public to avoid accountability, and in some cases even to evade taxes. They use complex webs of trusts and shell companies to keep their property holdings and personal identities secret, making it extremely difficult to figure out what they own and how powerful they are. This tendency is referred to in the research as “ownership obscurity”. This often leaves tenants feeling helpless in the face of negligence or outright abuse on the part of the landlord, while local officials are left clueless about who the biggest and most powerful landlords in their cities are.

Tech Tools for Justice Inc is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that is spearheading the development of the Landlord Mapper web application as part of a broader civic tech initiative aimed at combatting ownership obscurity. The work involves exposing networks of urban property ownership through leveraging publicly available property taxpayer and corporate data to create high quality, free and open landlord datasets. The web application serves the following objectives:

1. Provide tenants with easy access to information about who their landlord is, and the other properties that their landlord owns. 
2. Maintain a searchable database of landlords and their properties (including property values, complaints, code violations, evictions, etc.) that is free and open to the public
3. Develop an interactive web map that serves as an educational tool to raise public consciousness about corporate landlordism and its impact on communities in Chicago and beyond

Beyond the web application, the Landlord Mapper initiative seeks also to bring together individuals, researchers, activists and others who are involved in similar work elsewhere in the US to collaborate and share ideas. The ultimate goal of the initiative is the creation of a NATIONAL LANDLORD DATABASE, which spans across multiple cities and provides data not only on individual landlords, but also on the trusts, shell companies, property management companies and institutional investment firms involved in landlordism.

Tech Tools for Justice was founded in June 2024 by a former tenant organizer-turned-web developer. The organization does not currently receive funding, and has only one full-time employee working pro-bono (the founder & director of the organization).

ABOUT THE POSITION

The Fundraiser / Grant Writer volunteer position is a three-month unpaid position, with the possibility of a paid position at the end of the three month term depending on the success of the fundraising strategy. The position will be based out of Chicago IL, as the initiative is currently prioritizing Chicago for the next phase of the landlord database development.

The work will entail creating and executing a comprehensive fundraising strategy for the organization. The work will be undertaken with the direct assistance and active collaboration of the organization’s director. Responsibilities of the Fundraiser & Grant Writer position are as follows:

RESEARCH

• Identify available grants and grant-giving organizations
• Investigate requirements and deadlines of each individual grant

GRANT WRITING

• Draft language that effectively communicates Landlord Mapper’s mission
• Articulate effectively the connection between Landlord Mapper’s mission and the requirements and/or mission of the grant-giving organization

OUTREACH

• Establish contact with organizations in the community, both grant-making and non-grant-making
• Maintain relationships with the above mentioned organizations
• Attend events to network with above mentioned organizations in the Chicago area

The ideal candidate for this position shall exhibit the following characteristics:

• Passionate about fighting back against displacement, gentrification, abusive landlords, and oppression in all forms
• Outgoing & positive demeanor
• Excellent writing and verbal communication skills
• Strong research abilities
• Experience in justice-centered movements is a plus
• Experience fundraising in any context is a plus