419: Stop Designing Programs Backwards with Sarah Olivieri

Episode Description Most nonprofit leaders sit down to design a program and start by mapping the steps. The modules. The services. The flow. That work is real, and it belongs at step four, not step one. The three steps that should come before it are usually missing entirely, which is why so many programs are hard to run, hard to improve, and hard to explain to funders. Sarah goes solo in this episode to walk through a four-part program design framework that flips the order most organizations are using. In This Episode, You'll Learn Why step four (mapping the program) is the step almost everyone starts with, and what that costs the organization downstream The two questions to answer before you ever map a single service: what problem are you solving, and what does "done" look like for the client How to define qualified-to-start without quietly excluding the people who need the program most The 3.5 marketing bonus step that lets you serve everyone while still marketing to somebody specific Why this framework makes program measurement and KPIs dramatically easier to set later Who This Episode Is For Executive directors whose programs feel hard to explain to funders Nonprofit leaders staring at modules they built before they ever defined "done" Boards and leadership teams about to launch a new program and tempted to skip the upstream work Any organization whose pitch keeps landing as "we serve everybody" Practical takeaways Set your existing program modules aside (Sarah offers her fire bucket) and answer the four questions in order before you look at the modules again. Define done as a state of being for your client, not a count of completed sessions or modules. Pick one program this quarter and name the specific audience it is the best fit for, even if you serve a broader population. Use the magic-wand exercise: design the program with unrestricted funding first, then build version A from current resources and pitch version C to your donors. About Your Host, Sarah Olivieri Bold, strategic, and refreshingly human… Sarah Olivieri is the go-to expert for conversations on aligned leadership, outcome delegation, and sustainable growth. She brings wit, warmth, and real-world wisdom to mission-driven founders, visionary CEOs, and change-makers who want more clarity, more joy, and more results. Most leaders hit a wall when success depends on them holding it all together. Sarah helps them change that by redefining leadership around outcomes instead of activity, empowering teams to own results that scale and freeing leaders to focus on the vision that drives them. A former director of three nonprofits and founder of five businesses, she has a rare ability to spot opportunity where others see chaos, shift stuck patterns, and build organizations that support both legacy and life. Sarah leads with the same mindset that made her an award-winning sailor: iterate on what works, stay focused in the storm, and never forget the joy of the journey. Links Website: saraholivieri.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarah-olivieri Be sure to

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419: Stop Designing Programs Backwards with Sarah Olivieri is an episode from Inspired Nonprofit Leadership by Mary Hiland.

This episode is 12:32 long.

This episode was published on May 11, 2026.

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