[Businessmtg] Newcomer Packets

[Steve Rankin]

Hi folks,

It appears that we need to take a serious look at what folks are suggesting and what I see going down that path would entail.  I am going to discuss this issue under 4 headings:

A.	Financial
B.	Logistics
C.	Copyright
D.	My Suggestion

 

FINANCIAL:

One of the comments I heard was that since ASP has a net worth of $1,372.56, we can afford a $1.40 electronic Newcomer Packet for each Newcomer.  First, I need to point out that $1,372.56 is actually less than our Prudent Reserve.  If you check our Seventh Tradition webpage, you will discover that live most groups, our Prudent Reserve is set to equal one year’s expenses - $1,600.00. The concept of a Prudent Reserve is for the group to have a reserve of funds available to keep the group above water should we experience financial difficulties.  The idea of spending those funds on a new project is contrary to that concept.  If we decided to move forward with this project, the we would need to add the estimated annual cost of the project to our current Prudent Reserve.  

 

Which leads us to the estimated annual cost.  Sure, a buck-forty sounds like peanuts, but a buck-forty adds up when multiplied by the number of new members each year.  So how many new members join ASP in a year?  A few years ago, I tallied the number of new members each month & year from 2006 thru 2017:


2006

273


2007

377


2008

434


2009

455


2010

353


2011

457


2012

495


2013

341


2014

364


2015

663


2016

724


2017

998

The total is 5,934 for 11.5 years (2006 was only 8 months), which averages out to a little over 500 new members/year → $700.00/year, or 43% of our budget.  Of course, the 2017 data would suggest we need to budget $1,400.00/year which is over 87% of our current budget.  The data for this year is 88 new members in the first 6 months, which suggests 176 new members/year → $246.40/ year, or 15.4% of our current budget.  What about the COVID years when ASP was flooded with new members.  For example, LindaLee was just one of 3 greeters, yet she processed over 50 new members in a single month.  That works out to 1,800 new members in a single year, or over $2,500 in one year.  Who can say what the flow of new members will be in the future?  I certainly can’t. but it appears to me that we would need to budget at least $300/year and perhaps $500/year.  

Where is that money going to come from?  

 

Now, moving on to the logistics and nitty gritty details of implementing this project.

 

LOGISTICS:

When I visited the WSO site. . .

https://al-anon.org/blog/drumroll-please-welcome-newcomer-ebooklet-is-available/

the second sentence tells me a lot. . .

“That’s right, now you can purchase Welcome, Newcomer! wherever you buy your eBooks. “

That’s right.  The “Welcome Newcomer!” eBooklet is NOT available directly from WSO.  Why not?  Simple – this is not simple and easy to do.  😊  Hence, WSO’s decision to contract with major retailers such as Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, Barnes and Noble, or kobo.  Except that kobo does not offer gifting.  Since members of Al-Anon use a variety of devices, we would need to have an account at each of the following retailers in order to provide the “Welcome Newcomer!” eBooklet to all new members:

*	Kindle devices:  Amazon or Google Play
*	Apple devices: Apple Books, 
*	Nook devices: Barnes and Noble.  

Then, what steps are necessary to gift an eBooklet to a new member?

1.	Someone needs to the type of device each new member uses.
2.	Someone needs to log into the appropriate retailer site for the member’s device and complete the transaction.

Who logs into those accounts to arrange the gifting of the “Welcome Newcomer!” eBooklet?

*	The Greeter?  Do I think it is OK to give the Greeters access to these accounts where anything can be purchased using the ASP bank debit card?  No.
*	The Treasurer?  OK, so the current Treasurer does have access to the ASP bank debit card, but that’s because I’m a Founder, not the Treasurer.  Is it the Treasurer’s job to process the distribution of eBooklets to new members?  No.  Do I think ASP will be able to find members willing to serve as Treasurer with this kind of workload added?  No.  Remember, this would more than double the workload of processing a new member.  The Greeter Chair has appointed 3 Greeters to do the current processing; why would we think that any single person should do more work than those 3-4 members.
*	What about a group of several members?  OK, like who?  What systems are put in place to protect ASP’s funds?

Yes, we call the folks that do service in Al-Anon “Trusted Servants”.  However, during my term as the Area Treasurer of Northern California, the Treasurer of Southern California embezzled (stole) $27,000, and another for the Santa Clara Valley Intergroup stole $15,000.  I’ve also seen group treasurers abscond with hundreds of dollars of group funds.  

In other words, the logistics involved are not simple, nor easy, and nor financially safe for ASP.

 

COPYRIGHT:

Some suggested copying the “Welcome Newcomer!” eBooklet and posting it on the website.  Yes, the issue of copyright was mentioned.  Please note that WSO’s primary source of income is the sale of CAL, and WSO is extremely proactive regarding protection of its copyrights.  WSO recently hired a second “legal specialist” to deal with copyright issues.  Last year, she posted a note in the CMA Connects Forum describing our permission to use copyrighted material with this caveat “. . .refrains from distributing or posting copyrighted materials permanently in a public forum. . .”, among others.  In other words, it is NOT OK to post copyrighted CAL on the ASP website.

 

MY SUGGESTION:

So, what does all of this suggest to me?  

A.	Well, it’s pretty obvious to me that we might be able to afford it, but then we might not.  What happens if we proceed and then down the road we discover that we can’t afford it?  Some folks like to include a clause telling the group/leadership what to do in case X happens in the future – how does that jive with our principle of One Day at a Time?  And who is responsible for this?
B.	Do I believe providing the “Welcome Newcomer!” eBooklet to every new member of ASP is a better investment than supporting our Area, WSO, and our future District?  Not really.  In my decades of face-to-face Al-Anon, I have seen thousands of Newcomer packets given out.  Maybe they help, however I can’t recall a single person that came back to an Al-Anon meeting and mentioned the Newcomer packet as a reason for their return.  OTOH, I have heard many folks come back because they could FEEL the recovery and love in our meeting, and they wanted that in their life.  
C.	I don’t believe that ASP is prepared or capable of managing this project.  Perhaps in the very short run, but not in the long run.
D.	The financial and other complications involved strike me as problematic.

In conclusion, my suggestion has three (3) parts:

1.	Revisit Motion #15 and formally rescind Motion #7.
2.	Post a link to WSO’s “Welcome Newcomer!” eBooklet web page in the Greeter Welcome Letters, so the newcomer is informed of this eBooklet and has the opportunity to purchase it on their own, if they wish.
3.	Post a link to WSO’s “Welcome Newcomer!” eBooklet web page on the ASP website, so that all of our members have an opportunity to be reminded of this eBooklet, as well as other CAL.

 

Love and SERENITY,

Steve



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