Glitter

What Glitter does

Glitter is a Philadelphia-based for-profit company, founded in 2021 by Morgan Berman, that operates a pay-what-you-can crowdfunding model for residential block cleaning. Neighbors initiate service by pledging any amount toward a $200/month per-block weekly cleaning target; as additional neighbors join a block, costs automatically redistribute with each new pledge, and an Impact Fund cross-subsidizes lower-income blocks from savings on oversubscribed ones. The platform underwrites 350+ weekly blocks and 1,300+ subscribers across South, Northwest, Northeast, and West Philadelphia, with grant-funded Safe Steps initiatives (Northwest, Northeast, West Philly) layering violence-reduction pilots on top of the residential subscription base.

The company's technology stack consists of two main components: a crowdfunding web portal (the Members Hub, launched September 2025 at app.shareglitter.com) that gives neighbors real-time visibility into block funding, cleaning schedules, cleaner profiles, and before/after photos; and a mobile app used by cleaners to document work. Operations are supported by a lean HQ team (Founder, Director of Operations, Cleaner Operations Manager, Community Operations Manager) while cleaning is performed by a distributed workforce paid roughly $30/hour — nearly 3x minimum wage — with prioritization given to individuals with barriers to traditional employment, including those reentering from incarceration.

Glitter's revenue mix is diversified across residential subscriptions ($200/month per block, split among neighbors, with $50/month minimum threshold for monthly cadence), real estate partner services ($50/cleaning staging with a 4-cleaning minimum, $150 flat-fee closing gifts, $50/week landlord subscriptions), a $15/household compost pilot with Bennett Compost, corporate block sponsorships, and substantial grant funding (PCCD, William Penn Foundation, Healing Verse Germantown, PhillyLiving investment, City of Philadelphia grants via JEVS). Distribution combines direct-to-consumer website signups, an enterprise field-sales motion targeting landlords and property managers, channel partnerships with community development corporations (Mt. Airy CDC, Germantown United CDC, North10, SOSNA) and workforce-development nonprofits (JEVS, ECS), and government partnerships with Pennsylvania state legislators. The company maintains no disclosed institutional equity investors and has been built on subscription revenue, grant funding, and partnership arrangements since inception.

Name

Glitter

Legal name

Glitter

Website

https://shareglitter.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Glitter is a Philadelphia-based, pay-what-you-can block cleaning service where neighbors pledge to fund weekly litter removal at $200/month per block, employing living-wage cleaners and operating Safe Steps violence-prevention pilots across 500+ Philadelphia blocks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Neighborhood Cleaning Services

NAICS

Remediation and Other Waste Management Services (5629)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Pressure Washing & Exterior Hardscape Cleaning (BPABABAM)

Keywords

• Neighborhood block cleaning
• Crowdfunded cleaning subscriptions
• Residential litter removal
• Street sweeping services
• Community-funded sanitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

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. Residential Block Cleaning Subscriptions: Monthly subscription fees from residential neighbors funding block cleaning. Standard block cleaning costs $200/month (approximately $50/week). Contributions are pooled among neighbors on each block. Subscriptions are month-to-month with no long-term commitment. Payment recurs every four weeks with automatic adjustment based on collective pledges.
2. Real Estate Partner Services: Block cleaning services for landlords, agents, and property managers. Includes recurring subscriptions ($50/week per block), staging services for listings ($50/cleaning, 4-cleaning minimum), and closing gifts ($150 flat fee including 3 weekly block cleanings plus free pledge party).
3. Compost Pilot Program: Shared composting service at $15 per household per month for participating blocks in the Bennett Compost pilot. Neighbors opt in to access shared compost bins.
4. Corporate Sponsorships: Companies sponsor blocks in neighborhoods needing cleaning. Sponsorship funds directly support living-wage cleaning services rather than volunteer cleanups.
5. Impact Fund Contributions: Subscriber contributions to Impact Fund offset costs for lower-income blocks. Subscribers can choose to roll savings from oversubscribed blocks into the fund rather than reducing their own costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Glitter provides recurring neighborhood block cleaning services through a pay-what-you-can crowdfunding model where multiple neighbors on a block pool pledges to fund weekly or monthly litter and trash removal from sidewalks, streets, and storm drains. Cleaning frequency scales with the collective amount pledged, beginning at monthly cleanings once $50 is pooled and rising to weekly service at $200/month per block, with additional pledges automatically reducing each subscriber's cost.

Product overview

Glitter is a neighborhood block cleaning service built around a pay-what-you-can crowdfunding model. The core offering is the Block Cleaning Subscription, priced at $200/month per block (split among neighbors), with frequency scaling from monthly ($50 pledged minimum) to weekly based on collective funding. The service also offers the Members Hub web portal for real-time tracking, pledge management, and neighbor coordination. Additional products include Block Staging and Closing Gift packages for real estate partners, a Bennett Compost shared composting pilot ($15/household/month), and a Park Pilot program launching in 2026. Glitter operates several branded sub-programs including Safe Steps Northeast, Safe Steps Northwest, and Safe Steps West Philly — grant-funded cleaning and violence-reduction initiatives in partnership with state representatives and community organizations. The Impact Fund cross-subsidizes lower-income blocks from oversubscribed block savings. The company also accepts donated cleanings for raffles and fundraisers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 63% reduction in gun violence in Northwest Philly intervention area vs 38% in comparable non-participating neighborhood (25-point difference)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting, flagship, pilot and ongoing.

• ECS | St. BarnabascoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 July 2025ECS (Episcopal Community Services) is sponsoring community organization and grant administrator for Safe Steps West Philly. Provides community resources center, housing support, career coaching, student support, and health services. Initiative cleans 275 blocks in Carroll Park and Haddington from July 2025 to January 2026.
• Pennsylvania State Rep Jared SolomoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Partnership with State Rep Jared Solomon to power Safe Steps Northeast. Funded by state funding, providing monthly cleaning for all 500+ residential blocks in PA District 202 (parts of Oxford Circle, Mayfair, Tacony and Bustleton) through October 2026.
• JEVS Human ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024JEVS Human Services partnership for workforce development. Glitter hired 21 JEVS clients seeking to reenter the workforce. Funded by City of Philadelphia grant to JEVS. Provided cleaning on ~2,000 blocks across 10 neighborhoods. Post-grant, hired cleaners retained as permanent Glitter employees.
• Mt. Airy CDCcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 March 2024Mt. Airy CDC serves as grant administrator for Safe Steps Northwest initiative, overseeing project logistics and finances. Partnership between March 2024 and June 2025 providing free weekly cleaning on 335 blocks in Germantown and Mt Airy.
• Germantown United CDCsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024Germantown United CDC is a project partner and advisor for Safe Steps Northwest initiative in Germantown and Mount Airy neighborhoods.
• Pennsylvania State Senator Art HaywoodcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024Sen. Art Haywood convened community partners and provides advisory support for Safe Steps Northwest. Led advocacy for PCCD Violence Intervention and Prevention program funding. Continued partnership into Safe Steps West Philly.
• North10coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023North10 partnered with Glitter to address residential litter in Hunting Park. Cleaned 20 blocks for 4 Fridays. North10 offered matching funds to encourage neighbors to sign up for ongoing cleanings. Regular weekly cleanings began July 2024 on heavily littered blocks adjacent to North10 Community Center.
• PhillyLivingflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2022PhillyLiving invested $20,000 to fund weekly block cleanups across 80 South Philadelphia blocks. Led by Founder & CEO Noah Ostroff. 35 blocks signed up for ongoing weekly cleaning post-initiative. 30% conversion rate to recurring subscribers.
• PhillySafepilotStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2022Pilot project with PhillySafe to improve neighborhood cleanliness in West Philadelphia. Cleaned 23 blocks weekly including Strawberry Mansion. Hired local cleaners including justice-impacted individuals. Funded by PCCD grant and private funding.
• Bennett CompostpilotStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlitter partnered with Bennett Compost to pilot a shared composting service. Bennett provides compost bins, collects them weekly, and processes compost locally. Glitter manages signups and communication. The pilot tests block-level shared composting at $15/household/month.
• TierView DevelopmentongoingGTM or Marketing PartnerReal estate partner using Glitter block cleaning services for property portfolio in Philadelphia. President Jenn Patrino provides testimonial on improved community quality of life.
• GlobalLivingflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerReal estate partner that cleaned 80+ blocks benefiting nearly 3,000 households through PhillyLiving partnership. COO Kristi Yodis credits Glitter for making big impact for clients and neighbors.
• Ben Franklin ResidencesongoingGTM or Marketing PartnerReal estate partner (founder Clifford Lasky) uses Glitter for property sidewalk cleaning. Neighbors and HOA subsequently joined to clean entire block.
• Fairhill Property CompanyongoingGTM or Marketing PartnerReal estate partner using Glitter for own blocks and construction project blocks. Plans to offer Glitter subscriptions as goodwill gesture for working together with community organizations.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Neighborly: Franchise network aggregating home services including cleaning, maintenance, and outdoor services. Comparable as a multi-service residential services platform, though Neighborly operates through franchise owners rather than a crowdfunding subscription model.
• 1-800-GOT-JUNK?: National junk removal and hauling franchise with a residential subscription/membership offering. Comparable to Glitter's exterior block cleanups and hauling components, though it focuses on bulk item removal rather than ongoing sidewalk cleaning.
• Waste Management: Largest North American waste collection, hauling, and disposal company. Comparable as an incumbent in residential and municipal waste/litter services, though its offering is subscription-based trash pickup rather than sidewalk/street cleaning.
• Servpro: National franchise for residential and commercial cleaning, restoration, and remediation services. Comparable as a contracted cleaning services provider with grant/insurance-driven revenue, though Servpro focuses on interior restoration rather than outdoor block cleaning.
• Handy: Online marketplace for home cleaning, handyman, and outdoor services. Comparable as a consumer-facing home services platform, though Handy's model is on-demand pro matching rather than community-funded recurring service.

Emerging players

• Molly Maid: Residential home cleaning franchise with recurring subscription offerings. Comparable in subscription-based residential cleaning model, though Molly Maid focuses on interior housekeeping rather than exterior block/sidewalk cleaning.

Others

• Clean Harbors: Environmental and industrial cleaning, waste handling, and remediation services company. Adjacent to Glitter in environmental cleaning and grant/contract-driven work, though it operates at industrial scale rather than neighborhood scale.
• TaskRabbit: Marketplace connecting consumers with local taskers for cleaning, moving, and handyman work. Adjacent to Glitter in residential cleaning services, though TaskRabbit is an enabler/platform rather than an operator of recurring neighborhood services.

Direct peers

• Cleanstreets (American Sweeping): Street sweeping and outdoor hardscape cleaning services for municipalities and commercial properties. Directly comparable in outdoor hardscape cleaning scope, though it sells primarily to commercial and municipal buyers rather than crowdfunded residential blocks.
• Block by Block: Provides downtown cleaning, safety ambassador, and community hospitality services in cities across the US. Directly comparable to Glitter in outdoor public-space cleaning and community-based service delivery, though it serves commercial districts rather than residential blocks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/shareglitter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shareglitter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Glitter