— Meg M., Trustee, Treasurer, Region Four Liaison

Hello Fellows!

There is so much to share in the financial world of the Board of Trustees. We passed our 2023 budget. Thank you for making that happen through your continued contributions of both money and time. Here are some of the cool things you helped make happen:

  • We helped fund six delegates from Greece, Ukraine, and Iran to be present at WSBC 2023.
  • We continue to have a dedicated and competent World Service Office staff to manage our day-to-day inquiries and needs, financial duties, social media offerings, and internet updates to name a few.

We wouldn’t exist as an organization without your contributions. And like everyone, we too experience the shifts that occur with the economy and made some necessary changes.

Contributions Are Down, Costs Are Up
In general, contributions in 2022 were 15 percent less than 2021 and literature sales were down by 14 percent. Postage continues to increase, as does the cost of the hotel we secure for World Service Business Conference. With that information, the Executive Committee and the WSO managers worked together to make necessary changes, thus working together to make prudent use of your financial support.

Our bookstore shipping rates have been raised to cover an ongoing deficit of about US$40,000. This will decrease the gap and better reflect current costs.

The delegate registration fee for WSBC will be raised by US$25. This will help mitigate an ongoing $50,000 deficit.
We have increased the cost of our literature to better meet the rising costs of paper. You may be aware of the global paper shortage, and it has impacted us in a couple of ways: rising costs and delayed printing time.

These changes demonstrate the actions necessary to remain fiscally responsible, which is asked of us in Concept Twelve.

Understanding Our Operations
I remember my early days of recovery and trying to understand the difference between the workings of OA as a Fellowship and the workings of it as a nonprofit organization. Being a registered nonprofit organization in the US, OA must have several things in place to be up and running. Those include money coming in, responsible and legal allocation of funds, and a staff to make sure the organization works like a well-oiled machine. For over sixty years, that has been happening. Hooray for us!

To better understand how the financial and service aspects operated together, I stepped into the role of intergroup rep and then HP encouraged me to step up to be treasurer. That role helped me see what things really cost—not only that, but also to see all the expenses that made our intergroup work, such as rent, printing costs, storage, postage, and a post office box.

Jumping forward a decade, I see what it costs to manage the office of OA. And just like any other company, we work to be responsible, responsive, lawful, and ethical. And with that aim, discussions and decisions occur on an ongoing basis.

Thank You
Again, thank you for living your program of the Twelve Steps, Traditions, and Concepts. Thank you for freely living Step Twelve and letting people know about this great program of recovery by contributing your time and money, actively participating in events that let people know we exist, and being reps, delegates, and volunteers. Together we get stronger, together we get stuff done!