[Businessmtg] What Is Fully Self-Supporting?

[steve at serenitysys.com]

Hi Jerry, 

 

Yes, it is true that "ASP has, by Group Conscience, set our Prudent Reserve
(PR) amount at 'one year's expenses.' This is the amount which would keep
our lights on even if not one penny is donated by members."  It is worth
noting that this has been the default Prudent Reserve in Al-Anon for
decades.  

It is also worth comparing to WSO's reserves:

              Cash                    $   3,985,675

              Investments       $   9,198,639

              Total reserves    $ 13,184,314

That's in excess of twice the 2024 budgeted expenses.  

Talk about "Quite a security blanket."  It appears that WSO's security
blanket far exceeds any reasonable standard known in Al-Anon.  Yet, here we
are. . .

 

1.  Unfortunately, my box of Al-Anon literature has not yet surfaced from
our move to Idaho.  Among my stash of recovery literature is my collection
of Service Manuals going back to the 80's when I was a GR & DR.  When it
does, I have little doubt that I will be able to verify my take that the
Service Manual's statement that it is the group's responsibility to support
WSO is a recent addition to the Service Manual.  In the meantime, I'll note
that WSO's statement about our being responsible to support WSO financially
is limited to WSO.  There is a draught of information in the the Service
Manual about supporting the Districts, Intergroups, Literature Depots and
Areas, etc.  

In fact, WSO went so far as to declare that there was no such thing as an
online Al-Anon Information Service, hence ola-is.org was required to change
its name under the threat of legal action from WSO.  Interestingly, WSO
allowed ola-is.org to continue its website.  Afterall, WSO did nothing to
support the electronic meetings in those days.  Would WSO take legal action
against ola-is?  Knowing that WSO sued Don R., a personal f2f friend of mine
and the founder of CAFG, three times before they prevailed tells me that
unlike AA's GSO, WSO is more than willing to go to court to get its way.

 

2. Let's talk about the Al-Anon App, hosted by WSO.  For starters, the
member is required to agree to giving WSO the literary right to use whatever
they post in their shares on the Al-Anon app.  So much for "Whom you see
here, What you hear here, When You Leave Here, Let it Stay Here
<https://alanonla.store/product/table-anonymity-tent-card/> " anonymity
table card published by WSO for the face-to-face groups.  

Next is contributions.  The Contribution page on the Al-Anon app states "It
is both a privilege and a responsibility for groups and member to ensure
that not only their group, but all service levels remain self-supporting.
This keeps Al-Anon free of outside influence that might divert us from our
primary purpose of supporting families and friends of alcoholics.  How much
would you like to contribute? $5 $10 $20 $50  Custom Amount".  

[pick one, then Buy with G Pay pops up]

The problem??  The Al-Anon App makes no effort for the member to donate to
any service arm other than WSO.  

Sure makes it sound like contributing via the App is doing the right thing
for Al-Anon, but it is 100% self-serving.

 

3.  Unlike most groups, whether face-to-face or electronic, WSO is very
interested and focused on money.  Groups are quite happy if the rent is paid
and they have enough money for pamphlets.  Every group I've ever known sells
books at cost, so the group does not benefit financially from the sale of
CAL.  OTOH, WSO sells CAL at a significant profit; $ 3,217,630 NET profit in
2024, not counting magazine sales or subscriptions.  Contributions from
members and groups were $ 2,916,398 in 2024.  I thought it was interesting
that WSO made a net profit of $ 187,468 on the International Convention;
amazing considering that my Area was never able to come close to breaking
even in our conventions.  Perhaps even more interesting is that WSO had $
1,077,624 in revenue over expenses in 2024, the last year reported on their
website.  That's a 15.6% profit.  Not bad for a non-profit.  

 

4.  Did you know that the "stories" in Al-Anon CAL are not the stories of
Al-Anon members?

This is true.  WSO solicits stories from members for upcoming CAL.  But,
instead of publishing the stories of real Al-Anons, WSO hires a professional
writer to "blend" stories into a fictional story, and then sells the latest
book of stories.  FYI, I was there when WSO tried to explain this after WSO
informed a young lady member of MY home group that her story would be
included in the new "How Al-Anon Works" book coming out in time for the 1995
AA International Convention.  It is so bastardized it is unrecognizable.  

 

5.  WSO and its Quarterly Appeal.  Every quarter, the AFG Inc. Treasurer
sends out a "Quarterly Appeal" letter to every group.  The heading of this
letter says:

"Groups are encouraged to read this letter at two successive meetings and
pass around the enclosed envelope."

   (I believe WSO used to ask this be read at 3 meetings)

Note: Most groups structure their meeting per the Service Manual:

*	Suggested Opening
*	Reading of the Steps & Traditions
*	Introductions
*	Announcements and Reports
*	The Meeting Program
*	Passing the Basket - "At some point during the program, voluntary
contributions are made. . ."

Back to the reading of the Quarterly Appeal letter. . . 

The group's CMA reads the Quarterly Appeal letter during the Announcement
phase of the meeting, and then passes the basket around the group for
donations to WSO.  This is well before the basket is passed for the group
itself.

What is also typical is that many, if not most, members put money in the
basket for WSO that they intended to put in the basket for the group later
during the 7th Tradition passing of the basket.  In other words, the group
(a) spends several minutes reading the Quarterly Appeal letter, and (b)
members then donate funds to WSO that they'd originally intended for the
group.  Members that donate their usual amount to the group and WSO are a
small minority.  Please do not discount the reality of peer pressure to
donate to WSO during this process.

Note that this is designed to occur at over 15% of the Al-Anon meetings.

I've been to many meetings that eventually realized that the meeting was
running the red as a direct result of the Quarterly Appeal.  Naturally, this
was controversial, but in the end those groups decided to do something to
save the group.  Namely, stop spending precious meeting time panhandling for
WSO.

 

6.  Many of us in Al-Anon have issues with how WSO spends its money.  For
years, we have noticed how WSO sends staff on [boondoggle] trips around the
world.  Or how many knew that WSO has hired several attorneys in the last
few years.  It's gotten to where quite a few groups have taken group
consciences to (a) not read the Quarterly Appeal letter, (b) not donate to
WSO, (c) not elect a GR, etc. because they've witnessed too much that tells
them that WSO doesn't care.

Did you know that WSO has hired 3 attorneys in recent years.  The first was
assigned to oversee compliance with online meeting's use of CAL.  When the
WSC decided that electronic meetings were groups, not merely meetings, that
changed our legal access to using CAL in our meetings.  So, she was given a
different title & job.  Subsequently, WSO hired two additional lawyers.
Something is wrong with Al-Anon's bureaucracy when it needs a staff of
lawyers.  

 

7.  It is worth noting that the wording of the Service Manual is determined
by WSO itself.  Hence such a statement is rather self-serving.  Yes, the
general membership has a voice via their Delegates and the World Service
Conference, which can decide that a change needs to be made to the Service
Manual, however the actual wording is left to WSO.  The devil is in the
details.

 

8.  Voice and Vote.  In the early days, the Service Manual included an image
of our upside-down service structure.  See image
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Al-Anon_Alateen_Organization_Structure.p
ng> .  That has been removed from the Service Manual.  Why?  I, and many
others, believe that WSO enjoys the benefits of a fellowship that treats WSO
as the center of its universe.  

 

Lastly, as you know WSO & the BoD refused to recognize ASP or any electronic
"meeting" as a legitimate group for over 24 years.  Yet, they insisted right
from the get-go that we support them financially.  Finally, the World
Service Conference voted to recognize us as groups, however it must be said
that COVID provided significant impetus as f2f Al-Anon crashed and burned
during COVID.  FYI, it seems that most AA meetings pretty much ignored the
govt and met anyway; a reflection of the dedication of their members to
their program.  The World Service Conference group conscience was an
instruction to WSO to (a) treat the electronic meetings as groups, and (b)
to remove differences in the Service Manual between face-to-face meetings
and electronic meetings.  Five years later, and I'm still waiting for them
to treat us the same, so please forgive me if I'm not enamored with WSO.  

 

There's a reason - actually many more reasons than I've described here - why
many of us in Al-Anon have serious issues with WSO's failure to support
Al-Anon groups in general, and the electronic groups in particular.

 

Love and SERENITY,

Steve

 

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Businessmtg <businessmtg-bounces+steve=serenitysys.com at asp-afg.org> On
Behalf Of logmark--- via Businessmtg
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2026 12:55 PM
To: steve at serenitysys.com
Cc: ASP Business <businessmtg at asp-afg.org>
Subject: [Businessmtg] What Is Fully Self-Supporting?

 

Biz-Pals,

 

Some terms have been a bit distorted I believe. ASP has, by Group
Conscience, set our Prudent Reserve (PR) amount at "one year's expenses."
This is the amount which would keep our lights on even if not one penny is
donated by members. Quite a security blanket.

 

It also happens that, by Group Conscience, any funds in our account over the
set amount of our Prudent Reserve at the end of each quarter, is sent off to
support our various service arms.

 

It has been stated in this meeting that, "It is NOT our responsibility to
accumulate a larger excess." 

 

Our choice of terming funds over our PR amount as "excess" is a bit of a
distortion. We use our funds over our PR as our means of fulfilling our
responsibilities to become "fully self-supporting." [Tradition 7.]

 

It IS our responsibility to fund our service arms to the best of our
abilities. Any quick look at Al-Anon's 'Service Manual' makes this clear*.
The only way ASP can currently generate funds to fulfill these
responsibilities is to regularly receive donations above our set PR level.

 

They're not "excess funds," they're our service arm support moneys. Because
we don't have any from time to time doesn't mean we don't have to be "fully
self-supporting." And to declare that "increasing our group's [support]
funds is in fact, a violation of the 7th Tradition" is a step way too far.

 

Now, to the point I've made in past shares, and a possible solution:

 

Since our PR can only be "one year's expenses" by Group Conscience, adding
the new bank's fees to our yearly expenses equates to a new PR of $1,780
which the SC can do administratively. Anything other than that would require
a change to our current Group Conscience's language.

 

Setting our PR at $2,000 without expenses to support it really amounts to
hoarding $220. Can't use it; can't give it away.

 

In service,

Jerry

-

---------

* Service Manual:

 

~ "The group supports Al-Anon/Alateen at all levels of service by
contributing to:

   - Their District, Al-Anon Information Service..., and World Service
Area...that serves the group.

   - The World Service Office, which serves all groups. (In keeping with
Tradition Seven, support of the World Service Office IS THE RESPONSIBILITY
[emphasis added] of all Al-Anon members, groups, and service arms.)"

 

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