Is board governance only about compliance, or does it also shape how nonprofits develop strategies, design impactful programmes, and stay accountable to the communities they serve?
As nonprofits operate in increasingly complex environments marked by regulatory shifts, evolving funding priorities, and policy, the question of governance becomes more significant to address. Board governance is thus no longer only about meeting statutory requirements. It is increasingly linked to an organisation’s capacity to think strategically, respond to change, and sustain impact over time.
In November 2025, India Leaders for Social Sector (ILSS) published The State of Advisory Boards in India’s Social Sector report in partnership with Antara Advisory. The report examines how organisations are responding to this shift and how nonprofits are actually engaging with advisory boards. Drawing on interviews with 26 nonprofit leaders, board members, funders, and sector experts, our research shows that nonprofits are increasingly exploring advisory boards as complementary structures within governance systems—not as a standard solution following a uniform template, but as a flexible, context-specific way to strengthen strategic thinking in addition to compliance.
The role of governing boards in nonprofits
Governing boards are an essential legal foundation for nonprofit governance. Mandated by law, they are responsible for acting in the organisation’s best interests, ensuring legal compliance, and protecting its mission and resources. In India, governing boards take different legal forms depending on whether an organisation is registered as a trust, society, or section 8 company, but their core responsibilities remain consistent.
We found that:
- While governing boards remain critical, they may not always have the expertise to meet every strategic or technical need, particularly in a rapidly changing environment.
- The governing boards are often compliance-heavy by design, with meeting agendas shaped by legal obligations, risk management, and oversight responsibilities. Several respondents shared that this limits opportunities available for deeper strategic discussions, especially in organisations experiencing growth, transition, or operating in challenging contexts.
As a result, organisations may seek additional structures that allow reflection and mentorship without overburdening governing boards or diluting statutory accountability.
From compliance to strategy: The emerging role of advisory boards
Advisory boards offer organisations a platform to engage individuals who can contribute meaningfully through expertise, mentorship, networks, or contextual insight. They create space for experimentation, reflection, and strategic dialogue—critical functions that are often difficult to prioritise within the constraints of governing board agendas.
As the report notes, advisory boards expand how organisations think by offering leaders access to perspectives they may not encounter in day-to-day operations. In a rapidly shifting operating context for social purpose organisations (SPOs), they are increasingly emerging as structures that can support programmatic and operational excellence, systems thinking, and adaptive planning.
Our research highlights the role of advisory boards within a broader two-tier model of governance. In this model, governing boards focus on legal oversight, accountability, and compliance, while advisory boards contribute insight, foresight, and strategic perspectives. Together, these structures have the potential to strengthen organisations without diluting statutory responsibility.
As governing boards concentrate on their statutory responsibilities, advisory boards create space for deeper, forward-looking conversations.
Respondents used a set of metaphors to describe the role of boards in nonprofit governance. Boards act as a gyroscope, providing stability and balance; as a lighthouse, offering insight and foresight; and as ambassadors, advancing the organisation’s mission. When designed intentionally, advisory boards can complement governing boards across all three roles, supporting strategic planning, strengthening organisational functions and development, and reinforcing long-term direction.
As governing boards concentrate on their statutory responsibilities, advisory boards create space for deeper, forward-looking conversations. By broadening the lens beyond compliance, they enable organisations to anticipate shifts, explore new directions, and navigate change more effectively.
What advisory boards contribute in practice
There are several ways in which advisory boards are strengthening nonprofit organisations in India:
1. They add cross-sectoral expertise
Advisory boards bring cross-sectoral expertise in areas such as fundraising, strategy, evaluation, and digital transformation. For example, at the Adhyayan Quality Education Foundation, advisory board members engage closely with staff on specific organisational functions such as communications and data. This reflects an emphasis on collaboration and internal capacity-building, with advisory board members working alongside teams rather than operating as distant advisors.
They also act as thought partners on longer-term questions related to scale, sustainability, and leadership development. They provide independent perspectives that are less constrained by day-to-day operational responsibilities. In practice, this often means that advisory board members are able to bring objective, expertise-based perspectives, helping program teams think more creatively or innovatively about domains such as technology, social media, financial planning, MEL, etc.
2. Help in strengthening credibility
Advisory boards can strengthen an organisation’s credibility and legitimacy by connecting it to broader networks, such as stakeholders in academia, policy, and the private sector.
For example, at Project Mumbai, an advisory board composed of eminent Mumbaikars was constituted early in the organisation’s journey. Advisory board members brought local networks and contextual knowledge that supported legitimacy-building and helped shape strategic direction at a formative stage.
3. Flexible by design, advisory boards are iterative and responsive to the organisation’s needs
The constitution of advisory boards is not mandated by law, allowing ample scope to build one based on the contextual needs of the organisation. The composition can change with time, thereby making it responsive, agile and truly reflective of the organisation’s mission. They can be created to fulfil a short-term requirement and, with time, may evolve into a more permanent structure.
For example, the Educate Girls board underwent change as the organisation grew in scale and complexity. Initially composed of friends and family, the board became more professionalised as the organisation began its scaling journey. Finally, the third iteration of the board was formed to support expansion beyond the founding region, with members selected for expertise in government, strategy, finance, and technology to guide the organisation in this new phase.
Archetypes of advisory boards found across nonprofits
We observed several advisory board archetypes across the sector. These are not prescriptive models, but patterns that reflect how organisations are adapting advisory boards to their specific needs:
1. Regional advisory boards
Often used by large, national organisations to stay rooted in local contexts, these boards help bring together people with diverse skills, networks, and perspectives who can directly support local leadership.
Teach For India (TFI) first piloted a regional advisory board in Delhi, its largest operational area, to support the city director with context-specific problem-solving and accountability. The Delhi advisory board proved successful and showed how regional advisory boards can strengthen local operations while staying aligned with the national mission. Building on this, TFI has since expanded the model to six regional advisory boards across the country, each at different stages of evolution.
2. Locally led advisory boards
Composed of individuals deeply connected to a specific community or geography, such as a city or a specific region, these boards draw members from the local community who have a deep understanding of the context, networks, and challenges unique to that geography.
During our research, we spoke with an organisation working in a rural area that is considering setting up a local advisory council (separate from its advisory board). They aim to draw members from the local community who have cultural intelligence and strong local networks. The council will be composed of local leaders of influence, such as retired schoolteachers and bureaucrats, to help them navigate local dynamics in a more place-based manner.
3. Advisory boards in associate organisations
These are organisations, networks, or special initiatives operating under the governing umbrella of another registered body for legal, financial, or strategic reasons. This advisory board may provide technical expertise and strategic advice to the organisation.
The Centre for Pastoralism (CfP) was established as an organisation born out of Sahjeevan, and continues to be accountable to the Sahjeevan board for statutory matters. However, CfP has had its own steering committee, a group of subject-matter experts who provide advisory and strategic counsel to the organisation and have no legal oversight responsibilities. This enabled CfP to conduct its activities in an autonomous manner while still being a part of the Sahjeevan ecosystem.
4. Dual-structure boards
In this structure, the governing and advisory boards function as separate but complementary bodies.
For example, the Save Missing Girls governing board comprises the organisation founder and independent experts who fulfil statutory responsibilities and also engage in strategic deliberation regarding the organisation’s mission, programmes, and resilience. At the same time, Save Missing Girls also engages a wider circle of mentors and advisors who contribute expertise in specific areas such as programme strategy and fundraising, geographic scale-up of programmes, arts and culture, and advocacy.
5. Expertise- and mentorship-driven advisory systems
These boards or advisory structures are formed around specific skills or knowledge needs. They are designed to provide guidance aligned with organisational priorities and strengthen strategic and operational decisions.
For example, the Centre for Budget and Policy Studies does not currently have an advisory board in place. Yet, the Executive Director has a pool of mentors she consults for guidance. Over time, this approach could serve as a foundation for a more structured advisory board.
6. Advisory boards as pipelines for governing boards
These boards enable gradual engagement and trust-building between the organisation and the advisory board members. They serve as a valuable pathway to identify, engage, and prepare future governing board members.
Noshir Dadrawala, CEO of the Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy, who has been on advisory boards across organisations, says,“Long before I joined the statutory boards of organisations, I was first invited to serve on their advisory committees. That served as what I like to call, tongue-in-cheek, the courtship period between the organisation and me… Then, when the formal ask came— just like a courtship culminating in a marriage—it was an easy decision. By then, I had already spent three years with the organisation, understood its values and culture, admired the staff, and felt comfortable saying yes.”
Our research finds that there is no one-size-fits-all model for advisory boards. While best practices are still emerging, and what works best is context-specific, this archetype mapping may offer organisations practical reference points to design or rejuvenate their own advisory boards.
Factors that shape an effective advisory board
Several factors influence how advisory boards are formed and engaged. These include the organisation’s lifecycle stage, its operating context, organisational values, the role played by the governing board, the need for expertise and mentorship, and the desire to preserve institutional memory.
Advisory boards work best when grounded in a clear purpose, aligned with long-term vision, and composed of diverse members.
As organisations evolve, so do their expectations from advisory boards. Early-stage organisations may rely on informal networks of mentors, while more mature organisations may seek structured advisory engagement aligned with specific strategic goals. Across contexts, respondents emphasised the importance of finding the right fit between board members’ profiles and the organisation’s mission, culture, and needs.
It must be noted that advisory boards work best when grounded in a clear purpose, aligned with long-term vision, and composed of diverse, committed members with clearly defined roles. The respondents identified practices such as transparent communication, regular engagement, field visits, and quarterly reflections as useful in sustaining board involvement.
Crucially, effective advisory boards require time and attention from organisational leadership. Without intentional engagement, advisory boards risk becoming symbolic rather than substantive.
The changing view on advisory boards
Despite growing recognition of the importance of governance, board development remains underfunded across the sector. However, we found that funders in India are increasingly viewing strong, engaged boards as indicators of organisational credibility and resilience.
During our research, as we spoke to philanthropists, nonprofits, and board members, we realised that most respondents agree on the following:
- Advisory boards are not merely governance add-ons. Curating an advisory board reflects deeper choices about strategic direction, accountability, and organisational culture.
- External expertise adds value only when it is integrated thoughtfully and aligned with mission and context.
- To remain effective, an advisory board’s structure and purpose must grow alongside the organisation’s changing needs.
When intentionally and thoughtfully constituted, an advisory board can support a social purpose organisation’s journey in sharpening strategy, expanding perspective, and strengthening its reach through mentorship and visibility. Because of its flexible and collaborative structure, it can reinforce governance in meaningful ways.
We hope that the report serves as a resource for nonprofits to reflect deeply on the kind of governance culture they seek to build, and the role advisory boards can play within it.
—
Know more
- Read this article on how nonprofit boards need to evolve to support the work that they do and adopt a purpose-driven leadership approach.
- Read this blog on the critical issues that arise in nonprofit board leadership.
