What MAPSCorps does

MAPSCorps is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that engages high school and college youth as community data scientists to map local businesses and organizations in underserved neighborhoods. Founded in 2009 out of the South Side Health and Vitality Studies laboratory at the University of Chicago Urban Health Initiative (under Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau) and spun out as an independent nonprofit in 2016, the organization trains youth researchers to apply research methods and technology to collect publicly available data about community assets and to draw conclusions for community advocacy. Its core product is a community asset mapping program and a publicly available dataset of more than 40,000 businesses and organizations collected since 2007 across Chicago, Harlem, Detroit, Evanston, Honolulu, Hilo, Niagara Falls, and counties in North Carolina.

The technology underpinning the program is a youth-led methodology that combines field data collection by trained local researchers with public distribution of the resulting datasets through an Airtable-based data request form on mapscorps.org. The organization serves three primary constituencies: high school and college youth (who gain STEM training, data science skills, and meaningful employment), high schools, universities, and community-based organizations (which provide recruitment infrastructure), and local communities (which gain visibility into previously unrecorded public-facing businesses and resources). In 2023, MAPSCorps joined Northwestern University's Digital Youth Network and the STEAMbassadors program, formalizing its institutional affiliation and routing new participant applications through steambassadors.org.

MAPSCorps does not charge for its programs or its data; the organization is funded by donations and grants, with donations routed through Northwestern University's giving page. The organization maintains a small core staff (1-10 employees), an organic social presence across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and hosts an annual Scientific Symposium showcasing youth research. There is no disclosed revenue, no funding rounds, no patents, and no AI/ML capabilities described; the strategic moat rests on a unique longitudinal community dataset, embedded local research talent, and an academic/community partner ecosystem rather than proprietary technology.

Name

MAPSCorps

Legal name

MAPSCorps

Website

https://mapscorps.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MAPSCorps is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that trains high school and college youth as community data scientists to map local businesses and organizations in underserved neighborhoods, publishing the resulting asset data publicly across multiple U.S. cities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Research & Data Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Child and Youth Services (624110), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Health, Prevention & Health Education (BPAGACAC), Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN)

Keywords

• Community asset mapping
• Youth data science
• STEM education programs
• Community health research
• Nonprofit youth services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, MAPSCorps relies on donations and grants to fund operations. The organization accepts donations through Northwestern University's giving page.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

MAPSCorps trains high school and college youth as community data scientists to survey, document, and map publicly available data about businesses, organizations, and resources in underserved neighborhoods. The resulting community asset dataset, covering more than 40,000 entities across multiple U.S. cities, is published publicly to support community health, well-being, and economic vitality. The program provides paid youth work experience, STEM/data science training, and supplies free community asset data to residents, researchers, and partner organizations.

Product overview

MAPSCorps operates as a single unified nonprofit program focused on youth employment and STEM education. The organization runs a community asset data collection program where trained youth researchers document local businesses and organizations. The data produced is made publicly available to support community health, well-being, and economic vitality initiatives. MAPSCorps has expanded from Chicago to multiple cities including Harlem, Detroit, and Honolulu, having mapped over 40,000 businesses and organizations since 2007.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Asset Data Collection Program A youth-driven data collection initiative that trains high school and college students to survey and document community assets including businesses, organizations, and resources in underserved neighborhoods, producing publicly available datasets of 40,000+ entities for community health, well-being, and economic vitality. Targeted at communities in Chicago, Harlem, Detroit, Evanston, Honolulu, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ meaningful work experiences for youth since 2016
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and foundational.

• Northwestern University (Digital Youth Network)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023In 2023, MAPSCorps joined Northwestern University's Digital Youth Network. The Digital Youth Network was founded by Nichole Pinkard, PhD, and co-founder Akili Lee, MS, in 2005 with the goal of designing learning systems that ensure all youth, especially those who are underserved, cultivate the critical skills, literacies, and agency necessary to live engaged, empowered, and successful lives.
• STEAMbassadors ProgramcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMAPSCorps participants now apply through the STEAMbassadors program, which serves as the primary recruitment and application channel for youth interested in the program. Interested youth are directed to apply via steambassadors.org.
• University of Chicago Urban Health InitiativefoundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerMAPSCorps was born out of the South Side Health and Vitality Studies, a research laboratory directed by Stacy Tessler Lindau, MD, MAPP, at the University of Chicago Urban Health Initiative. The lab used an asset-based, community engaged approach to engineer solutions to injustice, giving life to the MAPSCorps program in 2009.
• Digital Youth NetworkflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Digital Youth Network (DYN) is a research lab founded by Nichole Pinkard, PhD, and Akili Lee, MS, in 2005. MAPSCorps joined DYN in 2023, operating as part of this Northwestern University-affiliated network focused on digital learning and youth development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Digital Youth Network: Northwestern University-affiliated research lab founded by Nichole Pinkard that designs learning systems for underserved youth. MAPSCorps now operates inside DYN, making it a parent/incumbent in digital learning and youth development with broader scope beyond community asset mapping.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): Large national nonprofit that invests in community development, including data-driven initiatives like LISC's community asset mapping work. Comparable focus on community economic vitality and data-informed neighborhood improvement, though LISC operates at a much larger scale and broader scope.

Direct peers

• Per Scholas: Nonprofit that provides tuition-free tech training and career support to individuals from underserved communities. Comparable as a workforce-readiness nonprofit targeting opportunity gaps through skills training, though it focuses on adult learners rather than high school youth.
• Year Up: Major nonprofit providing young adults from underserved communities with skills training, work experience, and corporate partnerships for career readiness in tech and professional fields. Comparable as a youth workforce development nonprofit focused on closing opportunity gaps, though larger in scale and serving older young adults.
• Code for America: 501(c)(3) that mobilizes technologists and community members to build civic data tools and improve government services for underserved populations. Directly comparable as a nonprofit producing community-facing data assets, though Code for America focuses on digital service delivery rather than youth-led ground-truth data collection.
• Genesys Works: Nonprofit that provides high school students from underserved communities with skills training, internships, and pathways into STEM careers. Directly comparable target population (underserved high school youth) and workforce-development mission, though Genesys Works focuses on corporate internships rather than community data research.
• Cities of Service: Nonprofit that helps city governments design and implement service-oriented programs addressing local challenges through civic engagement. Comparable mission of supporting community-level outcomes and engaging residents, though Cities of Service focuses on city government partnerships rather than youth data collection.
• CitiesLearn: Partner organization featured alongside MAPSCorps in community-data and youth engagement networks. Comparable as a community data and learning platform working in similar neighborhood/civic data space, though specific scope details are limited in public sources.
• Citizen Schools: Nonprofit providing expanded learning opportunities and career exposure to middle and high school students from underserved communities. Comparable youth development and college/career readiness mission, with similar apprenticeship-style program design, though Citizen Schools focuses on academic enrichment rather than community research.
• STEAMbassadors: Northwestern University/Digital Youth Network program that recruits and trains youth ambassadors in STEAM disciplines. Directly comparable as the channel through which MAPSCorps now recruits participants, with overlapping youth STEM training and digital literacy focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/MAPSCorps
• Facebookfacebook.com/MAPSCorps
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mapscorps
• Instagraminstagram.com/mapscorps

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about MAPSCorps