What Boston Tenant Coalition does

Boston Tenant Coalition (BTC), founded in 1970 and headquartered at 11 Beacon Street, Suite 510 in Boston, Massachusetts, is a non-profit coalition of grassroots tenant neighborhood groups, community development corporations (CDCs), homeless advocacy organizations, and academic partners. It serves low-income tenants in Boston at risk of displacement, as well as member organizations such as Fenway CDC and the Chinese Progressive Association, by building tenant power through grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, and tenant rights education. BTC operates from a stated core belief that affordable housing must be both permanent and targeted to Boston's low-income populations.

BTC's "products" are advocacy campaigns and educational resources rather than commercial software: the Boston Displacement Mapping (BostonDisplacement.org) tool, the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) campaign and activist training program, the Coalition for a Truly Affordable Boston (CTAB) policy campaign (which BTC anchors), LOHA Coalition transfer-fee advocacy, rent control repeal support, Inclusionary Development Policy advocacy, Expiring Use preservation, foreclosure prevention advocacy, the Immigrant Tenant Support Initiative, the Latino Tenant Organizing Initiative (including Spanish-language programming on WUNR 1600 AM), the multi-chapter Organizing Manual, the Michael Stone Scholars Program with UMass Boston, and the rental relief/eviction assistance hotline (in partnership with City Life/Vida Urbana, Greater Boston Legal Services, and the Office of Housing Stability). Underlying technology is limited to a content website and an interactive displacement mapping tool; there is no proprietary AI or ML technology stack documented.

BTC is funded through donations and grants (PayPal donate button prominently featured on its website), without pricing models, subscriptions, or commercial revenue. Its go-to-market is community-led: services and resources are distributed through member-organization networks across Boston neighborhoods, partner referrals to legal aid and housing stability hotlines, and direct organizing channels rather than traditional sales motions. Selectable strategic documents include the Achtenberg Report (published in 2000) documenting the maturing subsidized mortgage crisis and underwritten by Emily Achtenberg, Annette Duke, and Margaret Turner, which was cited by the City of Boston in its first housing plan and gave rise to BTC's "10,000 Affordable Homes" campaign.

Name

Boston Tenant Coalition

Legal name

Boston Tenant Coalition

Website

https://bostontenant.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Boston Tenant Coalition is a 1970-founded non-profit coalition of grassroots tenant groups, CDCs, and advocacy organizations that promotes affordable housing and tenant rights in Boston through grassroots organizing, policy advocacy campaigns, tenant education, and multilingual outreach to low-income tenants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Housing Advocacy Services

NAICS

Other Community Housing Services (624229)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Housing & Neighborhood Services (Local Housing Programs) (BPAIACAJ)

Keywords

• Tenant advocacy services
• Affordable housing organizing
• Tenant rights education
• Housing policy advocacy
• Grassroots community organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

East Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Boston Tenant Coalition operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through donations and grants to support its mission of affordable housing advocacy and tenant rights organizing in Boston.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Boston Tenant Coalition (BTC) is a coalition of grassroots tenant neighborhood groups, community development corporations, and homeless and advocacy organizations that promotes affordable housing in Boston. It defends and expands tenant rights through advocacy campaigns targeting city, state, and federal government as well as private industry, while providing tenant education, organizing resources, and referral to legal and housing stability services for low-income tenants.

Product overview

Boston Tenant Coalition (BTC) is a coalition of grassroots tenant neighborhood groups, community development corporations, and homeless and advocacy organizations that promotes affordable housing in Boston. The organization operates a collection of advocacy campaigns and educational resources rather than a unified software product. Key offerings include the Boston Displacement Mapping tool, advocacy campaigns for AFFH, CTAB, rent control, transfer fees, and inclusionary zoning, tenant support initiatives including multilingual hotlines for rental relief and eviction assistance, the Michael Stone Scholars academic program, the Organizing Manual tenant education resource, and legal help resources through MassLegalHelp partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Michael Stone Scholars Program: A scholarship program supporting participatory action research by UMass Boston students to continue Michael Stone's work in increasing housing for low-income people and addressing fair housing issues.

Products and services

• Boston Displacement Mapping An interactive online mapping tool that explores the Boston housing crisis and documents displacement experiences of Boston residents, helping identify areas of tenant vulnerability and amplifying displacement stories.
• Tenant Organizing Manual A comprehensive 11-chapter instruction guide covering tenant rights, eviction process, housing access, security deposits, conditions, lead poisoning, and organizing strategies, used to help tenants understand and exercise their housing rights.
• Rental Relief and Eviction Assistance Hotline Hotline services providing tenants facing eviction with rental assistance application help, legal aid referrals, and guidance on tenant rights, available in English and Spanish through partner organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• BTC's 10,000 Affordable Homes campaign launched from Achtenberg Report was cited by City of Boston in its first housing plan
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Coalition for a Truly Affordable Boston (CTAB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBTC is the anchor organization for CTAB, which formed in response to Boston's skyrocketing housing costs. CTAB brings together community members, housing advocates, and grassroots organizations to push for policy changes prioritizing true affordability over profit-driven development.
• LOHA CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBTC is a member of LOHA (Letter of Housing Advocates) Coalition, a diverse group of community organizations, housing and planning agencies, and municipalities supporting legislation enabling municipalities to levy transfer fees on high-end real estate sales to fund affordable housing.
• Coalition for Occupied Homes in Foreclosure (COHIF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMichael Stone was one of the founders and is a board officer of COHIF, a coalition of housing, tenant, community groups, academics, consultants, and government partners promoting strategies to keep tenants in foreclosed properties in their homes. COHIF has a pilot project in Greater Four Corners Dorchester and took title to 10 formerly foreclosed homes helping 30 families remain in their homes.
• Fenway CDCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFenway CDC is a community development corporation and member organization of BTC, collaborating on housing advocacy campaigns including the 2020 Campaign Press Release.
• Chinese Progressive Association (CPA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChinese Progressive Association is a member organization of BTC, collaborating on housing advocacy campaigns including the 2020 Campaign addressing middle-income housing crisis.
• City Life/Vida UrbanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBTC works with City Life/Vida Urbana on housing hotline services (617-934-5006) and produced the Organizing Manual used for tenant education and outreach.
• Allston Brighton CDC, JPNC, UFE, ABCD, and Greater Boston Four CornermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBTC collaborates with these organizations on the Latino Tenant Organizing Initiative through radio campaigns and immigrant tenant support, working to educate and raise awareness about housing discrimination.
• Mass Senior ActionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBTC coordinates with Mass Senior Action on expiring use legislation advocacy to preserve affordable housing at risk of conversion to market rate, particularly for elderly and disabled communities.
• MassLegalHelp and Greater Boston Legal ServicescoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBTC provides links to MassLegalHelp resources including self-help forms, booklets, and legal information for Massachusetts tenants. Greater Boston Legal Services provides free legal assistance (617-603-1807) for Greater Boston area tenants facing eviction.
• Fair Housing Center of Greater BostonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMichael Stone was an active board member of the Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston, supporting fair housing research and advocacy efforts.
• UMass Boston / Center for Social PolicycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBTC partners with UMass Boston on the Michael Stone Scholars program supporting participatory action research by students, working with UMass faculty and the Stone Scholars Advisory Committee.
• JPNDC (Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBTC worked with JPNDC and UMASS Emerging Leaders Program on the Faces and Places of Affordable Housing project (yestoaffordablehomes.org).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Community Change (formerly Center for Community Change): National racial justice organization working to build power for low-income communities of color. Comparable grassroots organizing infrastructure and coalition model, though much larger and federally focused.
• National Low Income Housing Coalition: National advocacy organization dedicated to achieving socially just public policy that ensures people with the lowest incomes have affordable and decent homes. Comparable to BTC in mission and advocacy approach, but operates at the federal level with broader policy scope.
• Right to the City Alliance: National alliance of grassroots community organizations building collective power to envision and realize cities that are equitable, just, and livable for all. Comparable coalition-building model with similar grassroots organizing and member-driven structure, though at national scale.

Direct peers

• Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending: Statewide coalition working on foreclosure prevention and predatory lending reform, partnering with BTC on tenant protections in foreclosed properties. Direct peer in foreclosure-related tenant advocacy with overlapping policy campaigns.
• City Life/Vida Urbana: Boston-based tenant rights organization that co-produces BTC's Organizing Manual and operates the housing hotline BTC refers tenants to. Direct peer in grassroots tenant organizing with overlapping member networks and mission alignment on housing justice in Greater Boston.
• Fenway CDC: Boston community development corporation and BTC member organization collaborating on housing advocacy campaigns. Direct peer with shared Boston geography, overlapping campaigns, and coalition membership in BTC's network.
• Coalition for Occupied Homes in Foreclosure (COHIF): Massachusetts coalition founded by BTC leadership that promotes strategies to keep tenants in foreclosed properties. Direct peer with shared leadership, joint fundraising (Michael Stone Fund), and aligned foreclosure prevention advocacy.
• Homes for All Mass: Massachusetts coalition running the campaign to repeal the statewide ban on rent control, which BTC actively supports. Direct peer in tenant rights advocacy with overlapping coalition membership and policy goals in affordable housing.

Emerging players

• Anti-Eviction Mapping Project: Data visualization and storytelling collective documenting displacement experiences and supporting tenant organizing. Comparable to BTC's Boston Displacement Mapping initiative, with broader geographic scope and stronger data tooling focus.

Regional players

• Tenants Together: California statewide coalition of renters' rights organizations working on tenant protections and affordable housing. Comparable coalition model and tenant organizing approach to BTC, but operates in California rather than Massachusetts.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/boston-tenant-coalition

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Boston Tenant Coalition