Restaurants shape their business operations around their guests’ palates. Hospitals tailor treatments to the specific needs of each patient. Libraries position their books in accordance with their patrons’ interests.

Companies in the service industry invest energy and resources into consumer testing so that they can build their models and products around the tastes, desires, and perspectives of people they serve.

So why aren’t all nonprofits building their programs with direct input from the people they serve, especially when it costs them little to nothing to do so?

In the nonprofit world, critical decisions are too often made by committees of professionals that have never personally experienced the challenges they aim to address. The lives and experiences of these decision-makers are

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