Make your cleaning budget cover more blocks every year
Most cleaning contracts buy the same blocks forever. Glitter is built so that neighbors take over the blocks you seed, which frees your money to move on to the next ones.
Fifteen minutes, and we will map your blocks
- Civic associations
- RCOs
- CDCs
- BIDs
- Community benefits agreements
How the money works
Seed a block, then move it to the next one that needs it
You fund cleaning on the blocks that need it most. At the same time we run outreach on those blocks with ambassadors, yard signs, door hangers and window decals. As neighbors start pledging, a block becomes self sustaining, and your funding rolls onto the next tier.
You fund the first tier
Pick the first twenty blocks. Cleaning starts, and outreach starts on the same day.
Neighbors start pledging
Residents see the cleanings and the photos, and begin funding their own block. Neighbors on nearby blocks start asking too.
Your funding rolls forward
Self sustaining blocks stay clean without you. The same dollars open the next tier.
Where it helps build momentum early, Glitter can match a portion of your funding. If neighbors pledge more than a block needs, the surplus goes to the neighborhood fund rather than back to us.
A neighborhood doing it now
Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition
For association properties we can also include the drive aisle and the frontage of the complex itself — that's how we've scoped several sites already.
50 blocks 🧹
blocks funded for monthly cleaning by the Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition, with co branded block signs and a standing monthly review between HEC and Glitter.
HEC treats the cleaning as something the coalition runs, not something it endorses. They put it in their own newsletter, in their own voice, and neighbors pledge on their own blocks from there.
“Having a consistent cleaning team who really takes the time to know our block makes a huge difference. They have done such a diligent job keeping our block clean and free of trash. We truly appreciate their hard work and dedication!”
— Daphne Pielak-Watkins, HEC Board Member
What you are actually buying
Anyone can put someone on a block with a broom
The question for your board is not who sweeps. It is what you can show your members, your funders and the City afterward.
A cleaning contract
An invoice and a schedule
You take it on faith the work happened
The same blocks, at the same cost, indefinitely
No record to show members or funders
Nothing changes if residents never engage
Glitter
Before and after photos on every cleaning, audited
Litter level data recorded block by block
A dashboard covering your whole neighborhood
311 reporting and tracking on what the City resolves
Residents pledging, so coverage grows past your budget
Reporting you can hand upward 📊
Pull a report for a board meeting, a funder, or a developer with obligations to document. Cleanings, photos, litter levels, and what the City did or did not resolve.
Issues beyond litter ⚠️
Abandoned vehicles, illegal dumping, potholes, persistently neglected properties. We log them, file them, and track whether anything happened.
More services over time 🌱
Composting is running now. Leaf removal, weeding, snow removal and trash can installation are in development, on the same block by block structure.
Who does the work?
The jobs stay in the neighborhood
Glitter hires from the communities we clean, prioritizing people facing barriers to work, including after reentry. Cleaners get paid training, free gear, pay that averages about $30 an hour, and a share of company profits. Wherever we can, the same person works the same blocks every week, so neighbors get to know them.
We are proud to be a fair chance and living wage employer.
Before you bring it to committeE
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A standard block is $50 per cleaning, so $200 a month for weekly service and $50 a month for monthly. Larger footprints are priced on the square footage we map with you. Most organizations start with monthly cleaning across more blocks rather than weekly across fewer.
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In our experience it is one of the easier uses to document: recurring, geographically defined, and visible on the street. Every cleaning is photographed and logged, so you can report exactly what was delivered and where. And because blocks convert to neighbor funding over time, the benefit continues after the agreement money runs out. Your counsel should confirm it against your specific agreement.
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Glitter is an affordable service that keeps litter and trash off your streets, sidewalks, and storm drains. Our pay-what-you-can model brings neighbors together to fund weekly cleaning.
We pay a living wage and prioritize hiring those in the community with barriers to work. We’re based in Philadelphia and committed to supporting cleaner and safer neighborhoods across the city.
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Our main focus is removing litter and trash from the sidewalks, street, and storm drains. When time allows, we’ll sweep also up leaves and pull weeds.
We report bulk items like tires, appliances, and construction debris to the city for removal.
We’ll clean up anything that is safe to handle, including discarded needles and bagged pet waste. We cannot handle other hazardous materials, such as unbagged feces or dead animals.
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A block is one city street between two major intersections and includes both sides of the street. The average block in Philadelphia is 450 ft and has 60 households!
If your block is anything but “average,” we’ll work with you to determine an equivalent cleanup area. We can also group multiple blocks together into a group subscription.
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Every block gets a fundraising page where neighbors make their pledge. We show the block’s current pledges, cleanup frequency, and photos from prior cleanups. Neighbors have the option to display their names or remain anonymous.
When signing-up, each neighbor makes a pledge that works for their budget. We pool all pledges to fund block cleanings. Additional pledges lower the cost for everyone—beginning with the highest pledges first. We recalculate individual contributions with every new pledge and notify you by email.
To help spread the word, outreach materials are available by request and shipped directly to you. Available materials include door hangers, letters, and yard/railing signs. They are customized for each block with QR codes.
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By default, cleanings are scheduled the day before trash day and bagged litter and trash is placed curbside for city collection the next day.
Cleaning can also be scheduled after trash day. We require at least one neighbor to volunteer to hold the collected bag(s) to put out for curbside collection the next week. Volunteers often hold bags in an outdoor trash can, alley, or backyard.
Cleanup schedules adjust automatically to align with city-observed holidays.
Cleanups begin once they are funded and as soon as a Glitter cleaner is available. Most cleanups start within 1-2 weeks of funding.
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We celebrate a diverse team of cleaners who share our passion and commitment for cleaner, safer, and more optimistic neighborhoods. Cleaners include students funding their education, parents requiring flexible work, and individuals seeking a second chance following reentry.
We prioritize hiring from underemployed populations and are proud to offer paid training, free branded gear and supplies, a $20 per hour starting wage and company profit-sharing.
Whenever possible, we hire cleaners who live nearby and assign them the same blocks each week so that cleaners and neighbors get to know and rely on each other. Our goal is to care for blocks as if we lived there—and sometimes we do!
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Please reach out to us anytime to share how things are going and how we can make Glitter even better for you and your neighbors.
We are a team of proud Philadelphians just like you who want to see our neighborhoods thrive. We’d love to know whenever we meet that goal and whenever we miss the mark so we can improve.
Contact us by email at hello@shareglitter.com or by phone at 215-995-0210.
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No. Service is month to month and you can stop anytime. Boards that want a written scope-of-work agreement for their records can have one — several of ours do.
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Yes. We've scoped drive aisles, complex frontage, and interior walkways as part of the mapped area. It affects the square footage and therefore the price, but it's not a different service.
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Every cleaning is photographed and logged to your block's page. If a week gets missed, you'll see it there before you have to ask.
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Philadelphia is where we operate today. If you're just outside the city, get in touch anyway — we're mapping where demand is.
Send us your boundaries and we will map it
We will come back with your blocks ranked by condition, a monthly number for a first tier, and a draft your board can edit into its own voice. If it is not a fit, we will say so.
Or email us: hello@shareglitter.com