I have a casual friend that started/is CEO of a non-profit. Recently she has asked me to be on the advisory board. It's a cause that I'm familiar with & support though my experience is tangential rather than direct (though 3 decades long which is pretty rare). Did you find the experience worthwhile/fulfilling? How much time/attention did it demand in your experience? Anything else i should know? Obviously im having a baby soon so i dont want to over commit. Thanks.
Trains: if it's called an advisory board, that typically means they don't have decision making authority.
I'm the executive director of a nonprofit and we have advisory boards in each state. They don't have fiduciary/legal responsibility, but they do have a fundraising goal and input into the growth of the organization. Some people like it better.
I agree that the organization should provide you with a job description which should include the time commitment. I'd say my advisory board averages 2-5 hours a month, depending on what is happening that month.
I was on the board of directors for a small non-profit for about 3 years. Including a monthly meeting and fundraising events, I would say I spent about 10 hours per month working in my role. I really enjoyed it, it was a cause I supported and I was able to give back at a time that I was not able to do as much as I would have liked financially. I did not have a defined fundraising goal, but my committee always set (and reached) a goal that we made for ourselves. I was appointed for three terms of one year each, and then could not serve anymore because I moved out of the area.
Make sure you know going in what your time commitment will be, any fundraising goals, etc. Have a good picture of the issues they are currently working on.