One Day's Wages

What One Day's Wages does

One Day's Wages (ODW) is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization founded in 2009 by Eugene Cho to alleviate extreme poverty by partnering with locally led organizations in underserved communities globally. The organization operates on a "100% Model" under which 100% of designated donations (minus processing fees) flow directly to field projects, while operational expenses are funded separately through events such as the annual gala. ODW is run by a lean team of 13 employees led by Executive Director Carissa Youssef and Global Impact Director Daphne Fowler.

ODW's core offering is a donation platform with an online calculator that lets individual donors determine and contribute one day's wages (or any amount) to poverty alleviation projects. Complementary engagement products include "Pledge Your Birthday" (personal fundraising campaigns tied to birthdays), "The Roots" (a recurring monthly giving community), and a GoFundMe Pro-integrated donor portal for managing recurring gifts and history. Programmatic work spans four cause areas: water and sanitation (67 projects, 350,000+ lives impacted), maternal and child health (61 projects, 166,000+ lives), social inclusion (54 projects, 78,000+ lives), and income generation (71 projects, 66,000+ lives).

Revenue is generated entirely through philanthropic channels: individual donations (direct-to-consumer via website and calculator), an annual in-person gala in Seattle (the primary operational fundraiser, supported by local business sponsors), and partnerships with schools (student clubs and service-learning), faith communities (congregational offerings and events), and businesses (portion-of-sales programs, sponsorships). All funding flows are donation- and grant-based; ODW has no equity, debt instruments, or product pricing. Since founding, ODW has invested $11,766,439 in 337 grants across 56 countries, reaching 1,044,592 people, and holds a GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency. Recent programmatic and institutional expansions include a $50,000 Together Women Rise grant (2026-2028) supporting maternal health work in Afghanistan via Action for Development, and long-tenured commercial partnerships such as MiiR (since 2011, $200,000+ across 45+ water projects).

Name

One Day's Wages

Legal name

One Day's Wages

Website

https://onedayswages.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

One Day's Wages is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2009 that alleviates extreme poverty by channeling individual and institutional donations through a 100% giving model to locally led partner organizations in underserved communities across 56 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development Grantmaking / Poverty Alleviation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB), Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA)

Keywords

• Poverty alleviation
• Charitable giving
• International development
• Grantmaking services
• Grassroots fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual donors pledge and donate one day's wages or other amounts through the website. Donors can give one-time or recurring donations.
2. Annual Gala: Annual fundraising gala where all proceeds fund organizational operations. Event includes silent auction, dinner, and storytelling.
3. Business Partnerships: Businesses partner through portion of sales donations, hosting events, sponsoring the annual gala, or ongoing giving programs.
4. School Partnerships: Schools engage students through clubs, events, and in-class projects that raise awareness and funds for poverty alleviation.
5. Faith Group Partnerships: Places of worship engage congregations through events, offerings, and sponsorships to support ODW causes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

One Day's Wages is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that mobilizes individual donors, businesses, schools, and faith communities to fund grants for locally led poverty alleviation projects in underserved communities. Donors can give a calculated one day's wages or any amount through the website, with 100% of designated donations (minus processing fees) directed to vetted field partners across 56 countries. The organization specializes in water and sanitation, maternal health, social inclusion, and income generation programs delivered through grantmaking rather than direct program operation.

Product overview

One Day's Wages operates as a charitable giving platform offering multiple engagement mechanisms for donors: a core donation platform where individuals can give one day's wages to poverty alleviation projects; a Birthday Pledge program for celebratory giving campaigns; The Roots monthly giving community; and a GoFundMe Pro-integrated donor portal for donation management. The organization maintains a 100% model, directing all designated donations (minus credit card fees) to field projects through partnerships with locally led organizations worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• One Day's Wages Donation Platform Online grassroots charitable giving platform that allows individuals to calculate one day's wages using an hourly/monthly/annual calculator and donate one-time or recurring amounts to support poverty alleviation projects worldwide. Directs 100% of designated donations (minus processing fees) to vetted field partners across 56 countries.
• Pledge Your Birthday

Quantifiable outcome

• 337 projects supported across 56 countries impacting 1,044,592 lives
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Woodland Park ZoominorGTM or Marketing Partner · 25 October 20242024 Gala sponsor among many local Seattle businesses.
• AdriftminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 25 October 20242024 Gala sponsor.
• BeechersminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 25 October 20242024 Gala sponsor.
• Cafe VitaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 25 October 20242024 Gala sponsor.
• Chipotle Mexican GrillminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 25 October 20242024 Gala sponsor.
• True HavingminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Mother + daughter team based in Portland, OR and Greenville, SC supporting ODW with a portion of their sales since 2017. Makes home goods out of genuine Pendleton wool.
• MiiRcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2011Longtime supporter since 2011. Has helped fund more than 45 water projects, donating over $200,000 to ODW Clean Water Fund. Partnership began with clean water projects.
• Action for DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner organization in Afghanistan implementing maternal health intervention including professional development for 160 trained midwives and operation of a midwifery-led maternity clinic serving 2,200 pregnant women in Kabul.
• Made FreeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGives back up to 20% of purchases to One Day's Wages through Shop & Support program. Supports crafters through self-sustaining jobs.
• SOFERES (Solidarity of Refugee Women for the Social Welfare)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRefugee-led organization in Malawi dedicated to strengthening food security for women farmers in Dzaleka Refugee Camp. ODW has partnered for over a year with multi-year partnership approved. Founded 1994, shelter for families displaced from Burundi, Rwanda, and DRC.
• Charity WatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to raise $25,000 for clean water and sanitation at a primary school in Ethiopia. $20,000 for sanitation facilities, $5,000 for water well.
• GuideStarminorOthersGuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency - nonprofit information aggregator providing charity ratings and information.
• New York TimesminorOthersMajor media coverage of ODW's mission and model.
• Seattle TimesminorOthersLocal media coverage of ODW's community work.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Every Mother Counts: Maternal health-focused nonprofit with comparable storytelling and grassroots donor engagement. Directly overlaps with ODW's Afghanistan maternal health / midwifery partnership with Action for Development.

Direct peers

• charity: water: Direct peer in the grassroots, individual-donor-driven clean water and WASH nonprofit space. ODW explicitly partnered with charity: water on a $25K Ethiopia school project, and both rely on storytelling, recurring giving, and transparency as core brand pillars.
• GlobalGiving: Online crowdfunding marketplace connecting individual donors to vetted, locally led nonprofits globally. Operates a similar intermediary-grantmaking model to ODW's partnership approach, with comparable geographic reach and cause diversity.
• Kiva: Peer-to-peer microlending platform funding entrepreneurs in low-income countries. Overlaps with ODW's income-generation cause area and grassroots, individual-donor crowdfunding model.
• GiveDirectly: Cash-transfer nonprofit focused on extreme poverty with strong transparency and donor-direct giving ethos. Shares ODW's commitment to radical transparency and tech-enabled, donor-trust-driven fundraising.

Broad incumbents

• WaterAid America: Established WASH-focused international nonprofit. ODW's largest cause vertical (67 water projects, 350K+ lives) directly overlaps with WaterAid's mission, though ODW is grantmaking-focused while WaterAid implements directly.
• Heifer International: Established international development nonprofit focused on income generation and sustainable agriculture. Much larger and longer-tenured than ODW, with overlapping income-generation and rural-livelihoods programming.
• Compassion International: Faith-rooted child sponsorship and poverty alleviation nonprofit. Strong overlap with ODW's faith-group partnership channel and individual-donor giving model, though at much greater scale.

Regional players

• Together Women Rise: U.S.-based women's collective giving organization that awarded ODW its 2026 Featured Grantee designation. Functions more as an institutional grantmaker and donor to ODW than a direct service competitor, but comparable in mission alignment (gender equality, poverty alleviation).

Others

• World Vision:

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/eugenecho
• Facebookfacebook.com/onedayswages
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/one-day's-wages
• Instagraminstagram.com/onedayswages

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 One Day's Wages