Dear Fellow SAs,

I thought it might be helpful to let you know what our group from West L.A. is doing in response to the financial challenge facing our Central Office. We know that SA as a whole is working on ways to meet this challenge, and whatever recommendations are adopted, we here will seek to support them. However, we feel that whatever we can do in the meantime will be helpful.

At every meeting, the secretary makes sure to mention the SA Central Office financial situation and what that means for us and for the thousands who are still out there who will one day need our help. We then pass around a can just for SA Central, and suggest that those present put in whatever they can afford. We suggest they include any change they have in their pockets. This can is in addition to the regular 7th Tradition basket passed at every meeting. We’ve found that much more than loose change is put in, and that this can often receives more money than the regular basket.

It is not difficult for us in the fellowship to remember the vast amounts of money we squandered on our addiction and how much we are now saving as a result of SA. We are happy to contribute a small amount of this savings in the knowledge that it will benefit others. It also helps us.

Other groups in the L.A. area are doing similar things to help support SA. If your group has come up with any ways to help support SA, why not share them in the next issue of ESSAY?

Recommendations Regarding 7th Tradition Support of the Central Office

At the St. Louis Convention December 6, 1986, certain recommendations were made for increased financial support of our SA Central Office work. The financial report presented showed that we would close 1986 in the red, which we did by several thousand dollars. The revised projection for 1987 is that we’ll need about $18,000 in member contributions to break even in ’87. The most we’ve ever contributed is $10,500. The St. Louis discussion led to the following recommendations:

1. That each group should “brainstorm” how to do their part in contributing to the expenses of the Central Office. One suggestion being used is to pass a second basket around during 7th Tradition time each meeting just for Central Office. This has been hugely successful where implemented. If most groups did this, we’d have no deficit!

2. Increase price of the SA manual to $10.

3. Various groups (unspecified) should assume the responsibility for taking care of the cost of the free literature sent to those in institutions. For example, some prisons have requested twenty books at a time, and our policy is to supply these free of charge, since these members have no means to pay. It was estimated that last year one such facility alone received over one thousand dollars worth of literature.

4. That ESSAY should be subscribed to as a donation to SA.

5. A volunteer committee was formed to further brainstorm and coordinate these ideas and report back to the fellowship. This should be announced in ESSAY.

Progress in this area will be reported as information is available. If you have any objections (as some do) or ideas, write in. Your voice counts! Now is the time to make your thoughts known and your voices heard, as we look together to God to find how we can be responsible to those who reach out to SA for help.

The Central Office is seeing where more work can be done by the local fellowship to cut cost. Results so far are promising.