See report here
Of particular interest:
It is unlikely that any primary purpose work will need to be cut back as a result of falling income since the vast majority of this is carried out by the groups. What might happen, however, is that GSO will be obliged to retrench by cutting back on excessive staff levels, wasteful expenditures and so on. Do we actually need three offices in York, London and Glasgow anymore? With call transfer technology is it really necessary to have people based in an office responding to enquiries? With a membership that is static (or according to our estimates falling) perhaps it's time for York to start applying some real economies rather than constantly holding out the begging bowl at every opportunity. Our primary purpose is best served by groups investing their time and money on ensuring that the meeting venues remain available and accessible rather than worrying about the latest grandiose scheme dreamed up by some desk jockey. Perhaps our focus should rather be on paying real market rents to our landlords (mostly churches) than continuing to rely on their generous subsidies (contrary to our traditions).
So maybe
next time the intergroup/region/group treasurer starts singing that
familiar old tune (we need more money!) accompanied by the usual
manipulative devices (Any lengths? Gratitude? etc) perhaps some good
questions to ask would be: What is it being spent on? What efforts
have been made to reduce costs? Does our primary purpose consist in
coughing up a few more quid only for it to disappear into the gaping maw
of Region (a completely unnecessary vehicle) and GSO or taking a
newcomer out for a coffee and making them feel welcome? A bit of a
'no-brainer' we think!
Cheers
The Fellas
(Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
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