Membership Covenant

Your annual membership of the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit is a tangible demonstration of your support and commitment to equal housing opportunities. As a member, you agree to fully support the Center’s mission of ensuring equal access to housing without discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), familial status, disability, and all other protected class categories under federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws and ordinances.

Your membership, in turn, provides several benefits including:

• Fair Housing Advocacy and Enforcement. The Center is one of the nation’s leading fair housing enforcement organizations. The Center and its team of cooperating attorneys have decades of successful experience in fair housing litigation and enforcement and in the resolution of housing disputes. As an individual or organizational member of the Fair Housing Center, you agree with and consent to the Center's continued actions in initiating and prosecuting court and administrative actions to remedy fair housing violations that have adversely impacted its members.

• Annual Meeting & Strategic Planning. Individual and organizational members of the Fair Housing Center are entitled to notice of our Annual Meeting of the Members and have voting rights as to annual agenda items, selection of Board Members, and other community-based fair housing planning items addressed during our annual meetings.

• Fair Housing Updates. All members will be kept up to date with the latest developments in fair housing compliance and best practices.

• Fair Housing Materials. All Members will have access to all informative fair housing materials, including brochures, informational packets, referral packets, etc. These materials may be freely shared to help educate the public as to current fair housing laws, regulations, policy statements, and court decisions, as well as best practices in fair housing compliance.

• Fair Housing Training. All members will receive priority for all fair housing training events, with discounts for such trainings.

• Acknowledgements. All individual and organizational members of the Fair Housing Center will be listed on the Center’s website, unless anonymity is requested. 

Annual individual and organizational memberships and sponsorships are available at the following levels:

     $   50       Individual Membership

     $  100      Organizational Membership

     $  500     Supporting Sponsorship

     $1,000     Bronze Sponsorship

     $2,000    Silver Sponsorship

     $5,000    Gold Sponsorship

     $10,000  Platinum Sponsorship

For additional information on individual and organizational membership, please contact our executive director, Steve Tomkowiak, or our Board Chair, Karlynne Tucker Scaggs.

"Million Dollar Courtroom", U.S. District Court, Detroit, MI

For decades testing has been accepted as a key investigative tool in fair housing cases. Fair housing testing involves private individuals who, posing as persons seeking to rent or purchase a home, apartment, or other dwellings, gather facts concerning real estate policies and practices.

By willingly volunteering their time, testers display a commitment to fair housing and civil rights. Testers come from all backgrounds and ethnicities. For example, one of our former testers, who served as a tester for years without formal recognition, now serves in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Center needs a large and diverse pool of trained and experienced testers who play a key role in fair housing investigations. If you are interested in becoming a fair housing tester, you may register under Events & Training to be trained as a tester.  If you would like to learn more about being a tester, please contact our testing coordinators, Engela Bertolini and Lisa Cooney.

Be a Fair Housing Tester

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Like other fair housing centers, we need independent, cooperating attorneys to serve as legal counsel in meritorious cases. Cooperating attorneys represent our complainants in federal and state court and in administrative proceedings.

The public service commitment they demonstrate in fair housing cases can lead to greater opportunities for public service. For example, two of our former cooperating attorneys now serve as U.S. District Court Judges for the Eastern District of Michigan. One former cooperating attorney now serves as U.S. Magistrate Judge in that District. Another cooperating attorney served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and as Deputy Major for the City of Detroit. One former cooperating attorney served as the Mayor of Madison Heights. He now serves as a Michigan District Court Judge. Still another cooperating attorney began handling fair housing cases successfully after working as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and as a former staff attorney with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.

If you are interested in becoming a cooperating attorney, or if you would like more information, please contact our executive director, Steve Tomkowiak.

Volunteers assist the Fair Housing Center with fair housing events and in fair housing education and outreach programs. The Center can work with you to arrange a volunteer opportunity that fits within your time schedule and commitments. For information about volunteer opportunities, please contact the Fair Housing Center at (313) 579-FAIR (3247) or via email

Another important way to further equal housing opportunities is to schedule fair housing training. Not a year goes by without significant changes to fair housing laws, policies, and best practices. Fair housing training aids in meeting and exceeding current compliance standards, while reducing the risk of liability. By scheduling regular fair housing training, an organization demonstrates to staff and leadership its commitment to fair housing.

Finally, the most effective fair housing education and training is delivered by private fair housing organizations, which view fair housing from an enforcement perspective.

For a suggested donation of $30, we will provide a handcrafted artisan pottery cup, tumbler, or bowl. Each is unique. They are available in assorted colors. Each one is safe to use in a microwave oven or dishwasher.

There is no better way to enjoy a hot or cold beverage while supporting fair housing!

The first step is to stay informed! We keep you up-to-date on current fair housing topics with our newsletter. Sign up today.

The following are links to our recent newsletters:

• Spring 2021
• Fall 2020
• Spring 2020
• COVID-19 Moratoriums (April 9, 2020)
• Spring 2019
• Winter 2019