Color Me Back: Same Day Work & Pay Program

The Barra Foundation and The Sheller Family Foundation awarded Mural Arts Philadelphia and Mental Health Partnerships grants to initiate a program in Philadelphia. Mural Arts Philadelphia proposed a mural-making work opportunity for individuals experiencing economic instability. The opportunity specifically targets participants experiencing economic instability in Center City and Kensington, Philadelphia. The initial grant award included support for a set of discovery interviews and the development of a theory of change. This three-month discovery phase, led by The Scattergood Foundation, was used to inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of a “same day work” program and has resulted in a publicly available report.

Since then, the Same Day Work and Pay model has been expanded to include CLIP (Community Life Improvement Program). The Scattergood Foundation has led the ongoing evaluation of this work, as well as a strategic planning process focusing on sustaining and expanding job opportunities.

To date, this program has paid over $225,000 in wages to over 850 people.