April 2008

Welcome to the Spring issue of the online Fellowship-Wide Services Newsletter!

Please take a copy to your meeting!

We would really, really love it if you could share this newsletter far and wide and encourage others to subscribe for free.

·          Here’s a printable version that you can take to all your meetings.

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Individual Contribution Month:
What do you need from F.W.S. and what does F.W.S. need from you?

May is Individual Contribution Month at F.W.S.  We are hoping you will consider making a contribution to F.W.S. during May or, even better, setting up an automatic, monthly contribution.  Last fall we asked groups and Intergroups, “What is the one thing you need most from F.W.S.?”  We got a lot of answers, and you can read all of them below, along with what we are doing to respond to them.

Click here to read all about it.

Website News:  
A report from the Fellowship-Wide Services Webmaster

Exciting changes have begun on our website!  Find out what they are and how you can help.  Find out about important changes to F.W.S. email addresses.

Click here to read the full report.

Oprah Calling

In January, Fellowship-Wide Services (F.W.S.) received a call from the Oprah Winfrey Show (OWS), asking us if we could put them in touch with female sex addicts who’d be willing to tell their story on television. 

Click here to find out what happened next.

Real Traditions Questions From Our Members

The Conference Steps and Traditions Committee (CSTC) received some questions at last ABM and would like to offer the beginnings of a discussion on these questions.

Click here to read the CSTC responses.

12 Concepts for World Service:
Task Force Created to Consider the 12 Concepts for SLAA

The Board Governance and Nominating Committee has begun a study of A.A.’s Twelve Concepts for World Service. 

Click here to find out more.

FINANCIAL REPORT

The second quarter of the 2008 Fiscal Year (Jan-Mar) has seen a small uptick in the sense of calm and hopefulness about F.W.S. finances.  We took in more money than we spent for the second quarter, and thus did not need to dip into our Prudent Reserve Fund.  We have made progress on paying off our modest debts.  And it has been several months since the last time we had to worry about where rent or payroll were coming from.  Nonetheless we are still operating on a very thin margin and our commitment is to maintain strict fiscal prudence as we gradually work our way towards a fully-funded prudent reserve and a more robust operating budget.

If your eyes glaze over when you look at a page full of numbers, please read on with courage.  Hopefully the explanatory notes will shed some light on the Balance Sheet and Income Statement that follow.  If not, at least you can say you gave it the old “college try.”

Click here to see the actual financial statements and more comments.

CONTRIBUTIONS LIST (GROUPS AND INTERGROUPS)

Click here to make sure your group’s contribution was received.

JOIN THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Do you know someone (maybe yourself) who would make a good candidate for the Board of Trustees?

Click here to download a flyer you can take to your meetings or Intergroup.