38.
Would the Fellowship discuss, share experience and make recommendations on how GSO reserves should be brought back in line with Guidelines, for instance whether the selling price of AA literature ought to be reduced or whether other actions to reduce reserves should be considered?
Background
•
Tradition 7
•
Report of the Trustees
and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2013
•
The AA Structure Handbook
for Great Britain 2013 p120
•
Concept XII
The
AA Structure Handbook for Great Britain 2013 p120 suggests GSO hold
'a prudent reserve equivalent to the budget expenditure for the
forthcoming year', this aim being underlined by the Reserves Policy
in the Report of the Trustees. However, at 30 September 2013 reserves
totalled £2,096,000 while annual expenditure was £1,228,000.
In
the year to 30 September 2013 the General Service Board reported a
surplus of £188,000, further increasing its reserves from a figure
already over the Handbook's recommended position and the Trustees'
aim
Tradition
71ong [sic] form states that ' ... we view with much concern those
A.A. treasuries which continue, beyond prudent reserves, to
accumulate funds for no stated A.A. purpose.'
Additionally,
Concept XII warns against becoming ' ... the seat of perilous wealth
... '
In
the year to 30 September 2013 literature sales were £519,000 while
costs as disclosed in the accounts were £182,000. Literature is
therefore being sold at almost three times cost.
Reducing
the selling price of literature would bring many benefits, such as:
•
decreasing the Board's
annual surplus and reducing reserves to bring them into line with
Handbook and Trustees' aims to hold one year's running costs as a
prudent reserve.
•
helping groups and
members to carry the message more widely at a lower cost.
•
allowing AA groups to
sell literature at a lower price than online bookstores, making this
part of the fundamental attraction of meetings.
My
intention behind asking this question is to address two significant
issues revealed by the latest Accounts – those being that
literature is being sold at a large profit, significantly hindering
its vital role in carrying the message more widely, and the
unnecessary and ever growing level of reserves which are in danger of
compromising our primary spiritual aim.
Terms
of Reference No. 7 Treasurer’s report at Conference 2014 answers
this.
Comment:
We'd go further.... we believe that ALL AA literature should be
available FREE as online downloads. Printed literature should only be
sold at cost. A facility should be made available on the website
where members may make a VOLUNTARY donation for downloads thus
obtained (but only to a pre-set maximum limit per account to avoid
bequests being made by an alternative route). Advice should also be
given that non-AA members (outside organisations) may of course avail
themselves of the facility but refrain from making any donation. Only
then will we be operating according to our own stated principles. See
Tradition 7.
AA is not a publishing business nor should profits from literature
sales be used to subsidise the running of the General Service Office.
Apart from being in breach of the aforementioned Tradition this
subsidy reduces the “power of the pot” ie. the ability of the
fellowship to hold the service structure to account by the simple
expedient of withholding funds. In the meantime we advise members to
download the existing free literature (here
(GB) and here
(US)) instead of purchasing hard copy. Moreover where competitively
priced alternatives are available they should purchase these
(although people should be aware that some of these are major tax
avoiders in the UK eg. Amazon). AA is quite capable of functioning
without this form of subsidy.
Cheers
The
Fellas (Friends
of Alcoholics Anonymous)
PS
For AA Minority Report 2013 click here
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