We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alison Haraburda a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alison , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I was always told the name had to mean something. The name One Day Niche comes from 2 sources. The 1st is the Bible. In Matthew 6:33–34 it says “Above all, constantly seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness, then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly. Refuse to worry about tomorrow, but deal with each challenge that comes your way, one day at a time. Tomorrow will take care of itself.” (TPT) The “One Day” part comes from this.
One Day Niche works with individuals who have various disabilities and some don’t really ever know what day it is., so it kind of fits too as each day seems to be a”new” day for them or the same day! The 2nd source is the dictionary! One Day didn’t feel like a complete name, so I was looking for words that could mean “a place”. A friend suggested many names like farm or ranch, but none of them fit. Niche is defined as “a comfortable or suitable place in life or employment”. When I read that, it fully fits with what our mission is. At One Day Niche, we seek to live each day, one day at a time in our comfortable place. It fits as most of the individuals ODN has served over that last year have been sitting at home for many months or years doing nothing. It has been exciting to see how the name fits!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am the 4th of 8 children in my family. I have 4 biological siblings and 3 adopted siblings. My parents did foster care and adopted the 3 individuals out of foster care. My mom passed away about 11 years ago and at her funeral, we counted close to 50 individuals that my parents had done foster care for over the years. This is a huge part of my story as all the individuals that my parents fostered had some kind of disability. Most were physically and mentally impaired. Some didn’t live very long and others are still living. One of my brothers, who happens to be adopted is in his 30’s now. He has aged out of the school system in Michigan which was at 26 years old. He didn’t fit in any of the over-26-year-old programs in our areas for various reasons. He is like a 5-year-old in a grown man’s body. Try to keep a 5-year-old on task at a job site for more than 5 minutes!!

I have a background in education, obtaining a Master’s in Education with an emphasis in Special Education in 2016. My undergrad was in education as well, math and physical education. I have spent the last 9 years working in construction and property management. Initially, the plan was to start a 24-hour care home and incorporate activities through the care home. I bought 5 acres with a house on it to do this, but plans changed in the process of launching and the initial phase ended up being to launch a day program instead. The house still needs some modifications done to be able to be a 24-hour care house.

One Day Niche launched in September 2022 with 3 individuals. ODN is a community-based day program for adults with disabilities and runs its programming 9 am – 3 pm Monday- Friday most weeks! It has filled a gap that was present with many individuals with disabilities who don’t fit in the “normal” work prep programs. ODN focuses on being involved with the community. We also give back by volunteering at a few local places that need some help.

In September of 2023, we celebrated 1 year since launch with 32 individuals that have participated in the program (thankfully on a rotating daily basis and not all at once!!). We have been able to enjoy local sporting events, fairs, and local attractions, and still find time to learn how to cross streets! It has been an exciting year and difficult year of growth and learning. ODN added 2 additional staff, 2 vehicles, and many volunteers in the 1st year.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

This question is hard for me to answer as I have been asked this many times and I laugh!

I am still working on funding and raising capital. It is hard for a non-profit with no 990s to go after a lot of the grants that are out there. Once 3 years pass, and if we are still going then we can get more funding.

Right now, One Day Niche charges $25/ day for the individual to attend the program. This for the most part covers the activities, staff, and vehicle costs.

We are working to still get a base of donors. We have 1 monthly financially supporting church and several individuals. Along the way we have had several come alongside us and give a one-time gift.

We have several upcoming fundraisers this fall that hopefully will help us continue to pay some of the yearly bills we have.

How’d you meet your business partner?

When starting a non-profit, you need a board of directors.

The VP on my board also has a son with disabilities who has graduated from traditional school and needs a place to go for activities instead of just staying at home all day. I met Shari when I was in high school and she was my volleyball coach. I went to college and had her husband as a softball coach. We have stayed in touch over the years and when she had her son, my mom helped her navigate the world that is so different for parents raising an individual with disabilities.

The treasurer on my board I met while a student at college. April and I worked in the college library to automate the catalog (going from a card catalog to an online catalog). She is working on her doctorate now in non-profit management and she teaches business classes at a local university.

My Secretary is my husband of 23 years. We met while I was playing basketball in college. He was watching one of my games with a referee that I knew. Brian worked in the intramural department with this other guy. It was just as email was coming out and he emailed me to ask if I wanted to go on a date with him. The rest is history!

These 3 have been very supportive of the work of One Day Niche and the impact it is having on so many already.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.onedayniche.org
• Facebook: facebook.com/onedayniche
• Youtube: @onedayniche8112

Image Credits
Alison Haraburda