Advancing Collective Wellbeing

Committing to a future where communities and planet thrive together

The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program has joined forces with the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services to form the Porch Light Initiative. Using art and human connection, the Porch Light Initiative strives to improve the health of vulnerable communities and individuals. Porch Light is a Local Funding Partnership of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. From October to April, artists are paired with partner agencies � Sobriety Through Out- Patient (STOP), Associaci�n Puertorrique�os en Marcha (APM) and Project H.O.M.E. Over the course of the year, the artists work with the service recipients at the agencies to design, paint, and hang large-scale murals in the neighborhoods where the organizations are located. They use art to engage clients in a new way, develop deeper connections to their community, and create a safe space to talk about behavioral health issues such as mental health problems or substance abuse.The Porch Light Initiative is dedicated to de-stigmatizing these behavior health issues, among clients themselves and among all area residents who see the murals. These beautiful murals act as beacons in the neighborhoods, sparking conversations about behavioral health issues, shedding light on challenges faced by service recipients, and encouraging empathy among fellow community members. The murals are not only a tool for partner organizations to integrate themselves into the community in a positive way; they heighten awareness of the resources available to help people with behavioral health issues and can increase access to treatment.

What is Collective Wellbeing?

RWJF believes that achieving a society where everyone can truly flourish requires something fundamental: a shared value of collective wellbeing.

Collective wellbeing is the idea that your wellbeing and mine are interdependent—tied to the health of our neighbors, our communities, and our planet. It is about the social fabric that holds us together, the sense of belonging we build with one another, and the shared commitment to a future where all people can thrive.

 

Why Collective Wellbeing Matters

We track disease rates to understand health. We look at GDP to understand how communities are doing. These measures matter, but they miss most of what actually shapes whether people and communities thrive.

Much of the conversation about wellbeing has focused on the individual—personal happiness, individual optimism, individual outcomes. Some of it has extended to community wellbeing: the social, economic, environmental, and cultural conditions that help people flourish. These are important efforts. But they are not enough.

Collective wellbeing goes further. It expands how we understand health itself—from tracking disease and social determinants, to centering belonging, social connection, and shared purpose as health outcomes in their own right. In other words, collective wellbeing is not a path to health. It is health. When communities build those connections, they build the collective will to address systemic harms and create a shared future together.

At RWJF, we want to better understand how others are interpreting and advancing collective wellbeing—and we want to support communities translating these efforts to change systems, repair harms, and promote health equity.

Learn more about our strategy

The Movement Toward Collective Wellbeing

"None of us can be well until all of us are well."

Watch this video to learn how leaders across the country are working toward a future where progress is measured not in economic outputs but in quality of life for all.

Core Tenets

Collective wellbeing recognizes that health and happiness are rooted in common connection, purpose, and dignity. Explore five elements of a collective wellbeing approach. (Visuals by Andre M. Medina).

Featured Resources

Investing in Collective Wellbeing: Committing to a Future Where People and Planet Flourish

Philanthropy has a crucial role to play in supporting communities to thrive. That means moving beyond narrow metrics and embracing a broader vision of collective wellbeing rooted in belonging, purpose, and dignity.

What Would a Wellbeing Economy Look Like? Reimagining It Through Poetry, Stories, and More

What would it take to design economic systems that are truly in service of our shared wellbeing?

New America convened 32 writers to explore what a wellbeing-centered economy might look and feel like.

Advancing a Wellbeing Narrative—Insights from RAND Corporation and the Metropolitan Group

Wellbeing approaches set human and planetary wellbeing as the definition of progress, centering policies, budgets, and other actions on that goal. Accelerating this work requires a broader narrative shift about progress.

Following the Road Beyond Borders

Alonzo Plough, RWJF’s chief science officer and vice president for Research-Evaluation-Learning, outlines how learning from around the globe can illuminate the path to health equity and advance our collective wellbeing.

Read Alonzo's Insights for the Field

Featured Initiatives

In 2026, RWJF made grants to 13 community initiatives working to build and strengthen partnerships, push for systems changes, and plan and test pilots centered around collective wellbeing. Explore more about their work.