Tradition Six

Short form:

"Six—An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose."

Long form:

"6.—Problems of money, property, and authority may easily divert us from our primary spiritual aim. We think, therefore, that any considerable property of genuine use to A.A. should be separately incorporated and managed, thus dividing the material from the spiritual. An A.A. group, as such, should never go into business. Secondary aids to A.A., such as clubs or hospitals which require much property or administration, ought to be incorporated and so set apart that, if necessary, they can be freely discarded by the groups. Hence such facilities ought not to use the A.A. name. Their management should be the sole responsibility of those people who financially support them. For clubs, A.A. managers are usually preferred. But hospitals, as well as other places of recuperation, ought to be well outside A.A.—and medically supervised. While an A.A. group may cooperate with anyone, such cooperation ought never go so far as affiliation or endorsement, actual or implied. An A.A. group can bind itself to no one."

(our emphases)

The reasons for this tradition are pretty well self-evident – AA and money don't mix – therefore AA is not in the business of 'selling' treatment, religion, books, ideas, life styles, advice, or any other product or service you can think of. It's got one purpose and it sticks to that – and that's given away free, gratis, no strings attached, no back handers, no side deals, no quid pro quo, zilch, nada, nichts …. (time to take a breath).... no contracts to be signed, no documents to be exchanged, no references required, no warranties offered, no insurance to be taken out (unless you count helping another alkie from time to time). In other words, and just in case this isn't quite clear enough – YOU PAY NOTHING – either in money or kind. AA is not a business, does not engage in commerce, does NOT make profits and just about lurches along on the contributions from its members – and how much they put in the pot is their “business” and nobody else's. There are no “suggested” amounts to be “contributed”, no tithes, no subscriptions, no percentages to be calculated. If you're a really sharp operator you can be a member of AA for your entire life and not pay a dime!!! (Come on! – there must be someone out there who's done it??). So if someone tries to put the pinch on you, tells you you GOTTA pay for attending an AA meeting, or tries to extract a dollar or two off you for the pleasure of listening to their “experience, strength and hope” then wherever you are you can be sure it ain't an AA meeting. If they're trying to flog you something, be it a book or a CD on how to win at the game of life, or be terribly, terribly spiritual in just ten days then keep your hands on your wallet (or purse), turn round sharpish, and walk the other way......preferably in the direction of a genuine AA meeting

Cheerio

The Fellas