Have you heard the old joke that a camel is a horse designed by a committee?
Well, all too often that’s what happens with the design of nonprofit advisory councils. Perfectly fine councils get turned into overly complex bodies that can become burdensome to manage. That’s the last thing that you want when you already have a lot on your plate running and leading your organization.
We’ve written about simple ways to run your board committees. In this article we’ll share our fresh perspective about advisory councils that are easy to manage and provide the benefits you want for your nonprofit.
A Council, Not a Board
It’s important to note that throughout this article we use the term advisory council. That’s in contrast to the more common term of an advisory board used throughout the nonprofit sector and in the articles that we reference.
Our use of the term “council” is deliberate. We think that for many small and midsize nonprofits, calling this group an advisory board is a mistake.
Councils typically differ from other groups like your board of directors or committees. A board is a more formal organizational body that requires clear management, officers, rules, etc. A smooth-running committee, too, has documented guidelines, a chair, and clear processes that help it address one topic or project (such as financial management, fund development, governance, board recruitment, etc.) By calling the advisory body a council you can communicate something entirely different: a group that provides guidance in a more informal way.
A more informal structure for an advisory council is what we’ve found works best for most small and medium-sized nonprofits. For example, one organization that we’ve worked with for years has an exceptionally beneficial advisory council that the board and staff love. It has about fifteen people that provide guidance on legal, indemnity, programmatic, and fundraising topics. They have never met as a full group and don’t have a chair or any officers. They are simply a loosely organized group of advisors that the board and executive staff call upon, as needed. It works beautifully and doesn’t create any unnecessary management responsibilities for the already taxed board and staff. With the advisory council’s support, the organization always exceeds its fundraising goals and receives exceedingly high marks on its programs.
Of course, you can set up a more formal council. But the key point of this article is that you can have an extremely beneficial advisory council that is loosely organized. So, if you’ve hesitated to form an advisory council because of a perception that it will be too much to manage, that doesn’t have to be the case.
Your Council’s Purpose
So, what should be the purpose of your advisory council?
Regardless of how you organize your council, it’s core purpose is to provide guidance and support to your board and executive staff. (In a prior blog post we discussed the council’s relationship to the board.)
The council is not, typically, a decision-making body. That’s the realm of your board of directors.
What the council provides guidance on depends on your nonprofit’s needs. According to an article from Boardable, “at their core, all advisory boards have a single goal: to help the nonprofit organization.” Boardable mentions that advisory councils can play these types of roles:
Governance
Fundraising
Young Professionals
Letterhead
Programmatic
Some councils play multiple roles and focus on multiple topics. It just depends on what you want and need. Look around your organization and find the things that require additional insight. That’s where you may find the purpose.
Once you have clarified your council’s purpose, it’s important to document it to make sure everyone is on the same page. Take it from Sherri Dunn Berry, who explains in this cautionary story that a lack of clarity around expectations led to difficulties with the advisory council of a fiscally-sponsored project.
Whatever role your council plays, it must be defined and documented so that everyone in your organization is clear about its purpose.
Who Should Be On Your Advisory Council?
The members of your advisory council should be selected based upon its stated purpose. They may include community members, board members (past or present), donors, subject matter experts, and anyone else who can provide value to the organization and promote the council’s role in the organization.
If your council has a general purpose then you may want a cross-section of members from your community. In an article for Blue Avocado, Jan Masaoko suggests that a community leader can “act as a spokesperson for the organization in the community.” If your council has a leader then she proposes that an active board member could serve as a possible alternative to lead the council.
Caroline Hoy adds that retired board members may be a good fit if they “have valuable history with the organization and can provide perspective to the discussion.” Additionally, she mentions subject matter experts “who understand the bigger picture in your field and can give context to your plan.”
Other possibilities for members include:
Long-time volunteers with a clear understanding of your nonprofit’s mission
Invested donors looking to serve but who aren’t a good fit for the board
Potential donors who will have the opportunity to connect with the organization more deeply
Diverse representatives of the community you’re trying to serve who can speak from their unique experiences
The council can be made up of anyone who cares deeply about the issue and offers valuable insight into the topics at hand.
Council members are happy to have their name associated with the organization and can pick up the phone or respond to an email when needed. The point is to make sure the council meets the organization’s needs and that the expectations are clear from the beginning to prevent confusion and conflict.
Keep Things Simple
An advisory council should benefit your organization, not stand in the way of its success. They play an important but unique role in any nonprofit, and just because something is important doesn’t mean it needs to be complicated.
In our experience, the perception of formality can scare nonprofit leaders away from forming advisory councils. Nonprofits that understand that councils can be loosely organized often have the most success with them.
With that approach your council will be a well-designed horse instead of a humpy camel.