Empowering Community Voices: The Strategic Advantage Of Nonprofit Advisory Committees

By Shannon Rose

An inclusive and engaged advisory committee has the potential to increase the quality, reach, and overall impact of your nonprofit’s work on a consistent basis.

Advisory committees let your nonprofit work with others who want to see you succeed.

As a nonprofit leader, you likely want to do your best to ensure that the voices and experiences of the communities you serve are represented in your work. Often, this means conducting periodic focus groups, needs assessments, or surveys.1 While all of these are useful tools for program development and planning, there is another strategy that provides consistent access to community input while also routinely building a supportive foundation from diverse, innovative ideas: the creation of strong advisory committees.

What are advisory committees?

At their core, advisory committees are groups of individuals who are stakeholders in your nonprofit’s work and who want to play a role in ensuring you achieve maximum impact. Having one (or more) active and highly functioning advisory committees fosters resilience, creativity, and even resource development for your organization.

Unlike the board of directors, which has oversight of the organization, advisory committees don’t have any oversight of the organization. Instead, they serve as partners in your work, representing the community you serve and even boosting the productivity of your workforce.

Visit the Blue Avocado website for the complete article.