Intergroup News

The Intergroup is a nonprofit membership organization representing all registered A.A. groups in San Francisco and Marin. Intergroup provides services such as an online and printed schedule, 24-hour teleservice, the bookstore, local publications, and service opportunities. Meetings are the first Wednesday of each month. All are welcome. See calendar for details.

21 09, 2022

Intergroup News | September 2022

Intergroup Meeting – Proposed Minutes
Wednesday, September 7, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

Intergroup coordinates services which individual groups in San Francisco and Marin cannot provide. We bring these services, as well as service opportunities, to our Member Groups. Our Intergroup observes the intent and spirit of A.A.’s Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts for World Service, as well as A.A.’s Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity, and Service.

7:00 Getting Started

Open with the Serenity Prayer
Call to order. Statement of Purpose
Review the minutes and agenda
Roll Call
1. 45 groups represented: 32 from San Francisco, 13 from Marin

New IGRs, Visitors, AA Anniversaries
1. New IGRs: Jim H., Jack, Bryan, Norbert, Cheyenne, Tom, Elaina, Alison, Tom R.
2. Visitors: Jackie
3. AA Anniversaries: Christina (25 years), Chris (10 years), Tom (34 years), Courtney (18 months)

Approval of agenda (housekeeping item)
1. Motion to approve: Marie; Second: Chip
Approval of last month’s Intergroup Meeting minutes (housekeeping item)
1. Motion to approve: Caitlin; Second: Isae

7:15 Officer Reports

1. Board Chair – (In Charlie’s absence, Isae presented)
  1. Communications Survey Results Feedback
    1. What’s in a name?
      1. Replace Intercounty Fellowship of AA (IFAA) with SF and Marin Intergroup
        
        It would eliminate confusion
      2. Central Office is both a nickname and a service provided. This nickname will not go away.
        
        Intergroup commonly used across the U.S.
        
        Aligns entity name with representatives (Intergroup Reps)
        
        Represents the Fellowship we serve (SF and Marin)
      3. What does SF and Marin Intergroup do?
        
        Central Office
        
        Aasfmarin.org
        
        Meeting schedules
        
        Inquiries about AA
        
        Informs public and profession community
        
        Support AA service entity
        
        Literature, chips
        
        The Buzz, The Point
        
        AA Events
      4. Open discussion around the suggested name change, and confusion about Marin Fellowship Intergroup’s name and the services they provide.

Treasurer – Jim
1. Revenue
  1. Total revenue is $192,000 for the year. Under budget slightly, but ahead of prior year
  2. July group contributions only slightly ahead of June, 50% of January
  3. Book store revenue 68% increase over prior year
2. Expenses
  1. Total expenses $212,000, which is under budget, but ahead of prior year
3. Bottom line
  1. Deficit of $19,100 is actualized as budgeted, well below prior year
  2. Contributions from Treasurer turnover did not manifest
    1. Possible causes: Higher rents = higher prudent reserves, hybrid technology
4. On budget and greater than 2 months of operational cash is excellent
5. 301 faithful fivers (up three) in July donated $4,044 down – $139
  1. Average is $13.44
  2. Our goal is 350 contributions by the end of the year
  3. If you can give, give what you can and if you can’t – keep coming back

Executive Director – Christina
1. Attended the ICOAA (Intergroup/Central Office) Seminar in Denver this past weekend, it is for Intergroups and Central Offices across North America
  1. Around 85 Intergroup managers attended, as well as the GSO General Manager, AAWS Board Chair and Grapevine Editor. Made connections with other Intergroup managers and it is great to see what other Intergroups are doing
  2. Attended a lot of workshops
    1. San Diego Intergroup interested in the Pop-Up Bookstore idea
    2. Of service at the Changing Face of AA workshop and the theme was, if AA can survive COVID, then we can survive anything
2. After two and half years, we are officially welcoming volunteers back to Central Office. They are getting trained this Saturday and shifts begin next week.
  1. Currently 8 volunteers signed up and they are taking 2 to 4 hour shift each week
  2. We will communicate with Marin and San Francisco Teleservice Committees before we officially transfer those lines during Central Office hours. Right now the volunteers will answer the phone lines with the current teleservice schedule.
3. Marin Pop-Up Bookstore
  1. Thank you Jaime for being the Pop-Up Bookstore Liaison!
  2. The next Pop-Up is September 19 at Vivalon, in San Rafael. The Pop-Up is in collaboration with Marin General Service – please spread the word!
    1. Hours: 6:45 to 7:30pm and 9 to 9:30pm
    2. Pre-orders need to get in by 9/17 at 2pm
    3. Regarding last month’s question about credit and debit only at the Pop-Up. We will try to figure out a way to accept cash.
4. Outreach Ad-hoc Committee Proposal –
  1. Idea came from Question 2 from the Intergroup Inventory back in February
  2. Shared this proposal with several people and the Board has reviewed it, but wanted to bring it to Intergroup’s attention. Hopeful that by having an Outreach Ad Hoc Committee it could help with the issue of finding support and get more people into service.
  3. If you would like to look at proposal, reach out to [email protected] or send a chat.
  4. Open discussion around the Outreach Ad Hoc Committee proposal and including Intergroup in the decision-making process.
5. Intergroup is participating in both the Marin and San Francisco Unity Days. At Marin Unity Day, we are in charge of the registration table. And for both events we will represent Intergroup by tabling. If you would like to help out, reach out to [email protected].

7:30 Intergroup Committee Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

Archives Committee – Mike
1. Next Meetings is 3rd Sunday of the month at 12 (in-person and online)
2. Also looking for more people who are interested in volunteering
Peter – Public Relations Committee
1. Elections for new officers coming soon
2. Next meeting is Monday 9/12 at 7pm
3. Focus on in-person events – event on Friday 9/9 at St. Mary’s Cathedral – Reentry Resource Fair for the community
4. Sunday Streets – Sunday 9/18 from 11am to 4pm
5. Jessie Alley Street (JAS) 9/24 near Market and 6th
The Point – Kristee
1. Looking for article submissions about service for Unity Day. The Point includes personal stories and poetry of recovery
2. Online writing workshop Saturday 9/19 at 5:30. Email Kristee O. for more info
3. Next meeting 9/10 at 12:30pm

Help Chat – Caitlin
Needs a new committee chair
If you are a slack user, it is easy to volunteer with Help Chat and speak with newcomers and fellow volunteers. No shift required – answer chats as you’re available.
Email [email protected] for more information

7:40 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

SF General Service – Alison
1. Elections are coming up.
2. 72nd GSC Final Conference report available as a PDF on www.sfgeneralservice.org (password: 1945)
3. Pacific Regional Forum is September 16-18 in Salt Lake City, Utah
4. SF Unity Day is Saturday, 10/8 in- person at First Unitarian Universalist Church on O-Farrell and Geary
Marin General Service – Molly
1. The General Service Office is collecting new stories for the 5th Edition of the A.A. Big Book. Looking for stories to represent what AA looks like now. Stories due 10/31, https://www.aa.org/submit-bigbook-english-5th
2. Updating the Black and African-American Alcoholic pamphlet (specific to US and Canada A.A. members). Submission deadline is 10/31
3. Updating the 4th Edition of the Spanish-language A.A. Big Book – 4th edition submission deadline is 12/15
4. Marin Unity Day is 10/15 – theme is back to the 80’s celebration.
Marin Teleservice – Jillian
1. Next meeting 9/27. Orientation @ 6:30pm and 7:30pm business meeting
SF H&I – Chad
1. Business Meeting 9/17 at 12pm
2. Orientations scheduled in person every third Saturday of the month at 11am. Announcements and more information at aasfmarin.org
3. Currently have 3 H&I zoom meetings. We have 18 in-person meetings and have 3 more new in-person meetings.
4. Need more volunteers – commitment is 1 day a month
5. Area 62 is looking for a Regional Chair for H&I NorCal and a Correctional Co-Chair

7:50 Old Business

Inventory Question #3 Break-out Session: How well is transparency and full disclosure being implemented between the Intergroup Board of Directors and rank and file IGRs? What, if anything, could be improved?

Group 1: Progress has been made, and there is more transparency. No specific actions needed to be taken. Joined during bequest and current board seems to have learned. Monthly board meetings can be shared and board minutes are shared in the agenda. Board meetings are closed to members. Very happy this question was asked because in their own committee they take for granted what they think people are thinking.

Group 2: Suggest an in depth IGR workshop that is more in depth than orientation. Change the format of these meetings to include more time for IGRs to bring forward their group issues or questions to Intergroup as a whole. Making what’s on your mind longer or agreeing to break-out room format is a great way to have more direct conversations. Pairing board members, a liaison or committee chair with a group of IGRs to give more in-depth training or education about what is going on as IGRS begin service. Proposal for IGRs to be allowed to attend board meetings or observe.

Group 3: Directed toward new IGRs. Bio sheet of all board members and contact information. Also like the idea of a graphic representation of Intergroup published. Make that available for all new IGRs. Concept 9 – including consistency and responsibility, flexibility and commitment and attendance to this meeting once a month.

Group 4: No glaring action. Reality that the IGR contingent and board itself has had a lot of change over and not the same as it was before bequest matter. Someone also noted that the solutions offered seemed to say board members and IGRs hold themselves accountable. Suggestions proposed around this inventory seem doable but sees the board strike this balance of transparency and giving information within reason and selecting what they want to be surfaced and to not overwhelm people. We are directly responsible for those we serve and that means transparency and aligning to spiritual principles.

Group 5: consensus that the Board minutes are available if you choose to read them and then like the idea of inviting IGR members so they can sit in but not necessarily participate. New board and format we are in – not an in person meeting and not a zoom call and a limited amount of time to communicate and so it is basically a mutual responsibility to be as informed as possible. The board is receptive to feedback if we are talking about this.

8:15 New Business

Discussion Item: 7th Tradition: What are you seeing in your groups and how are you engaging with your treasurer? Are there notable differences between Online vs In-Person meetings?
1. Tabled for next meeting:
  1. Motion to approve: Chip; Second: Chris

8:30 Targeted Message

Support Intergroup service committees – check out our calendar on aasfmarin.org to see when the service committees meet.
Marin Pop-Up Bookstore is happening again on 9/19! Literature and chips can be pre-ordered (and select literature will be available for sale) – at the monthly Marin General Service meeting @Vivalon (930 Tamalpais, San Rafael) on Monday, September 19 from 6:45 to 7:30pm and 9 to 9:30pm.
The Central Office is welcoming back volunteers. Reach out to [email protected] if you are interested in signing up for a weekly volunteer shift. One-year of sobriety is required.

Next Intergroup Meeting: October 5 online

Adjourn with the Responsibility Statement

Meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm.

Next Intergroup meeting will be on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at 7:00 pm.

September 2022 Intergroup Meeting Treasurer’s Narrative
Year to Date Ended
July 31, 2022

REVENUES:
Bookstore sales were still well ahead of prior year helping with lower than expected group and individual contributions. A surge in group contributions due to treasurer commitment turnovers did not manifest to any large degree. Bookstore sales, individual and fellowship contributions were all down contributing to a $3K decrease in overall revenues. It is possible we are still experiencing a lag but it’s also been noted that rents charged to groups are way up leading to higher group expenses, higher necessary prudent reserves, and thus lower disbursements to the entities. Year to date revenues are 6% under budget but still 2% ahead of prior year.

EXPENSES:
Expenses year to date are also running 6% below budget but ahead of last year by a whopping 10% While inflation is a factor, outside service costs for technology development post website rollout was a significant factor and there were significant 2021 expenses that were not billed until 2022. Budgeting high or “worst case scenario” expenses proved to be a prudent decision and such conservative budgeting will be utilized for the draft 2023 budget for the intergroup to vote on. Expense increases due to easing pandemic restrictions as well as general inflation were specifically included in the budget, though national inflation is greater now than when the budget was completed.

NET INCOME:
With Revenues slipping slightly and Expenses impacted by inflation, IFAA is currently operating at a loss of $19K. This was exact to budget though significantly worse than prior year with a year to date loss then of just 3K. As noted, lags in group contributions may be a factor but it seems increasingly likely the trend will continue.

LIQUIDITY RESERVE:
Liquid or “unrestricted cash” which is in addition to our prudent reserve slipped in July due to our operating loss. Liquid reserves between 1.5 and 2 months of operating expenses are rated “Good” (down from “Excellent” in July) so we are still in a positive cash position, but the trend is downward. Lagging contributions may help but to what extent they will protect our prudent reserve remains to be seen.

12 10, 2022

Intergroup News | October 2022

Intergroup Meeting – Proposed Minutes
Wednesday, October 5, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

7:00 Getting Started

Open with the Serenity Prayer
Call to order. Statement of Purpose
Review the minutes and agenda
Roll Call
1. 47 groups represented: 33 from San Francisco, 14 from Marin

New IGRs, Visitors, AA Anniversaries
1. New IGRs: Mary, IGR, & Mimi, IGR
2. Visitors: Jackie B.
3. AA Anniversaries: Ayn (44 years), Kate (7 years)

Approval of agenda (housekeeping item)

1. Approved
Approval of last month’s Intergroup Meeting minutes (housekeeping item)
1. Corrections: Jillian; Sisters In Sobriety not included as having attended
2. Approved

7:15 Officer Reports

Board Chair – Charlie

1. Presented on the 2022-2023 Board Key Initiatives for Intergroup which highlights what the board has done this year and what they plan to work on next year.
  1. Highlights from this year include hiring a new Executive Director, creating better transparency with Intergroup, collaborating with Marin General Service to start pilot the Pop-Up Bookstore at their District Meetings, revised Intergroup’s Bylaws, increased Marin representation on the Intergroup Board, updated the Intergroup Operations Manual, and the new website.
  2. Some challenges include: Support for the Intergroup committees, confusion around our name, continuity of the Board Members, cost containment and rising inflation and getting back to pre-pandemic contributions and book sales
  3. On the horizon, the board will be working on publishing an Intergroup org chart, developing an Annual Report that highlights Intergroup services, increased outreach and cooperation at the committee level, and increased number of groups represented at Intergroup. Additionally, developing clear and consistent protocols for electing new Intergroup Committee Chairs in alignment with our bylaws and facilitating an internal financial audit.
  4. Questions [email protected] or email the board at [email protected].

Executive Director – Christina

1. So much gratitude to SF and Marin Teleservice for taking over the phone lines 24/7 during the pandemic. I’m grateful to say now that we have Central Office volunteers again, Intergroup is ready to answer the lines Tuesday-Friday during Central Office hours.
2. We have open shifts to fill for Central Office Volunteers.
3. Please announce that Central Office needs Tech Support to upgrade our internet. Reach out to [email protected] to help.
4. Intergroup is participating in both the Marin and San Francisco Unity Days. At Marin Unity Day, we are in charge of the registration table. And for both events we will represent Intergroup by tabling. If you would like to help out, reach out to [email protected].
5. AA Grapevine book prices are increasing by $2.49 starting January 2023- so get your orders in now. Intergroup will figure out if we follow suit and how much our Grapevine books will increase.

Treasurer – Jim

1. 1. Revenue
    1. Total revenue is $214,000, 8% under budget to last year
    2. Individual contributions below both budget and prior year
    3. Group contributions consistent with prior year and budget (if you include the Fellowship numbers, which consists of contributions from Marin Teleservice and Sobriety by the Bay)
  2. Expenses
    1. Total expenses $242,000, which is under budget by 8%, but 10% ahead of prior year
  3. Deficit and Rating
    1. For this year, we budgeted a deficit of $32,800 however, are forecasting for a deficit of $36,500
    2. Intergroup cannot sustain such a loss in 2023
    3. Losses are taking their toll on our liquidity, and we are looking at a Fair to Good rating
  4. We currently have 304 faithful fivers (up three this month) that donated $4,074
    1. Average gift is $13.40
    2. Our goal is 350 contributions by the end of the year which can happen if we get the word out!
  5. Discussion on whether projections for this year are the same as last year since more meetings have gone back to in person. Also a question if the numbers were the same pre-COVID and if we projected a deficit.
    1. Treasurer said group contributions plummeted as a result of COVID, but individuals made up for those contributions – and they were not near what we received in 2019.
    2. Regarding what to take back to the groups – please ask Treasurers to disburse 7th Tradition contributions and to make announcements at meetings that Intergroup is facing a deficit. Also, recommend meetings to participate in Gratitude Month.

7:30 Intergroup Committee Reports

Archives Committee – Mike
1. Next meeting is 3rd Sunday of the month at 12 (in-person at Central Office). Looking for more people interested in volunteering.
2. Participating in Unity Day.
3. For more info contact [email protected]
Sunshine Club – Kate
1. Volunteer Orientation on last Wednesday of the month on Zoom
  1. Next is October 26th at 7:30PM
2. PLEASE announce at meetings for volunteers that this service exist
  1. No new volunteers in the last two months
Public Relations Committee – Christina on behalf of Peter
1. Next Public Relations committee meeting is 10/10 online
2. Focusing on in-person events. Final Sunday Streets is 10/16 from 11am to 4pm
The Point – Bernadette
1. October issue released online and printed
2. This month meetings is canceled due to Unity Day
3. Writing workshop available at Unity Day on 10/8
4. Next meeting is November 12th at 12:30PM

7:50 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

SF General Service – Alison
1. SF Unity Day! 10/8
2. 72nd GSC Final Conference report available as a PDF on www.sfgeneralservice.org (password: 1945)
3. Spirit of Rotation: Elections are coming up
  1. Join monthly district meeting, every second Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm on Zoom
4. Submission deadline for story submissions for 5th edition of the big Book is October 31st
Marin Teleservice – Jillian
1. Next meeting 10/25. Orientation @ 6:30pm and 7:30pm business meeting
2. Central Office is now answering the phones every weekday except Monday
3. Recruiting new business committee volunteers for January turnover
  1. We need help, please share at your meetings
    1. For more information, to sign up to volunteer for a shift, and/or to get the link to the meeting, go to www.marinteleservice.net
SF Bridging the Gap – Phil
1. Committee meets monthly
2. Orientation is 1st Tuesday at 6:30, business meeting at 7pm on Zoom [email protected] for details
SF H&I – Chad
1. Orientation is scheduled in person every third Saturday of the month at 11am.
2. Next business meeting in person November 19th at 10am
3. Currently have 3 H&I zoom meetings. We have 18 in-person meetings and have 3 more new in-person meetings. H&I needs volunteers to take meetings back to in-person meetings.
4. Expenses and contributions are above last year but below budget for this year. This month saw a nice pick up in literature orders
5. Area 62 is looking for a Regional Chair for H&I Norcal and a Correctional Co-Chair
Kaitlin – Marin County Young People of Alcoholics Anonymous
1. Business meeting 1st Sunday at the Alano Club in San Rafael
2. Friendsgiving in November – Friends themed event
3. New Years Dance – info to come
4. Also, tabling at Marin Unity Day on 10/15

8:02 Old Business

Discussion Item: Evaluation of the Inventory Review Process – Chip
1. What is our goal? Do you find it useful? Is this the right format?
  1. Feedback included:
    1. Likes the break out rooms and believes it’s well communicated
    2. Questions are pertinent and helpful and as an IGR, he has brought the questions to his meeting. Nice to feel involved
    3. Loved doing group inventory and the process of reviewing in break out rooms. Suggestion to not provide the responses in the break out rooms as may be too much information
    4. Want to continue the current process with the remaining questions.
    5. Thinks we should finish with the same format. Seems to be working and it seems to be affecting actions from the Board which is positive.
  2. Decision to continue to review the interview questions with current process

8:10 New Business

Motion to create an Outreach Ad-Hoc Committee with representation from both San Francisco and Marin – Allison
1. An Outreach Ad-Hoc Committee will help educate members and meetings in Marin and San Francisco about the services Intergroup provides; and hopefully generate more representation at Intergroup.
2. IGRs encourage to review the proposal in the packets and we will continue to discuss in next month’s meeting
3. Reach out [email protected] with questions

Motion to refer to “Intercounty Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous” going forward as “San Francisco and Marin Intergroup” – Judy
1. Found through the communications survey that there is confusion about our name. Changing it to San Francisco and Marin Intergroup will be more representative of our fellowship.
2. This is not a legal name change. If approved we would refer to the service entity as San Francisco and Marin Intergroup while maintaining the legal name of IFAA. Also the nickname Central Office does not go away, as it is a service that SF and Marin Intergroup provides.

8:30 Targeted Message

Unity Day is coming up!! San Francisco Unity Day is 10/8 from 10am-3pm at First Unitarian Universalist and Marin Unity Day is 10/15 from 12pm-5pm at Unity in Marin Church, in Novato. For details visit aasfmarin.org.
Get involved with service by joining an Intergroup service committee. Check out our calendar at aasfmarin.org to see when the committees meet and you do not need to be an Intergroup Rep to participate.
Remember Gratitude Month is in November and it’s a time to express your gratitude for your sobriety. These additional contributions support A.A. service entities so talk to your groups now to get ready for Gratitude Month!

Next Intergroup Meeting: November 2, 2022, online

Adjourn with the Responsibility Statement

Meeting was adjourned at 8:32pm.

Treasurer’s Report
September 2022 Intergroup Meeting Treasurer’s Narrative

Year to Date Ended
August 31, 2022

REVENUES:
Group Contributions did not surge due to treasurer commitment turnovers in August
either. Bookstore sales are well ahead of last year while individual and fellowship
contributions are down leaving the intergroup 8% under budget overall and 0% ahead of
last year. It is possible we are still experiencing a lag, but it’s seemingly unlikely. We do
tend to see a surge in contributions in the last 4 months of the year, but the lion’s share
of gratitude month, holiday, and treasurer turnover contributions appear in January. If
the situation doesn’t improve, we are likely to end the year significantly under budget.

EXPENSES:
Expenses year to date are also running 8% below budget but ahead of last year by 10%
While inflation is still a factor, a rent increase in November will also push expenses
higher offsetting the increases in “end of year” contributions but to what extent remains
to be seen. Expense increases due to easing pandemic restrictions as well as general
inflation were specifically included in the 2022 budget, but with mounting losses, the
2023 budget will have to be lean. We will still likely end the year under budget overall
but with they will still likely exceed revenues.

NET INCOME:
With Revenues down higher expenses, IFAA is currently experiencing a loss of $27K.
This was greater than the budgeted loss of $22K and current projections see us at a
loss of over $30K by the end of the year. Gratitude month, and end of year contributions
will improve our outlook but to what extent is uncertain as such revenues vary widely
from year to year.

LIQUIDITY RESERVE:
Unrestricted cash in addition to our 6-month prudent reserve slipped in August due to
our continuing operating loss. Liquid reserves ended the period at 1.4 months or “Fair to
Good” (down from Good). So we are still in a solvent cash position, and will likely still be
at year end but if the trend continues, our liquidity will be depleted necessitating access
to our prudent reserve in 2023.

13 08, 2022

Intergroup News | August 2022

San Francisco and Marin Intergroup Meeting – Agenda
Wednesday, August 3, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

7:00 Getting Started

Open with the Serenity Prayer
Call to order. Statement of Purpose
Review the minutes and agenda
Roll Call
1. 36 groups represented: 20 from San Francisco, 16 from Marin

New IGRs, Visitors, AA Anniversaries
1. New IGRs: Sonya B., Natalie M., Dillon S., Leo O.
2. Visitors: Jackie B – SF General Service, Daniel S.
3. Anniversaries: Jim M. – 18 years, Leo – 1 Year
Approval of agenda (housekeeping item)
1. There were no objections. Isae moved to approve the agenda, Chad seconded. Agenda was approved.
Approval of last month’s Intergroup Meeting minutes (housekeeping item)
1. There were no objections or corrections to the minutes. Brian made a motion to approve. Chad seconded. Minutes were approved.

7:15 Officer Reports

Board Chair – Charlie turned it over to board member Isae to discuss the Communications Survey
1. Communications Survey Feedback
  1. April/May 2022 – survey was available on the website with alert button on the home page to participate and published in the Buzz
  2. 260 participants – most from SF, ⅓ from Marin and remaining from other parts of the country
  3. Analysis broken down in sections and presented throughout the next month’s IGR meetings. Tonight’s analysis includes:

What name is most familiar? What is the function of Intergroup? Based on results, recommendations are:
1. use name of “San Francisco and Marin Integroup” in everyday conversation, communications and forums.
2. Reference IFAA (Intercounty Fellowship of AA) when referring to the non-profit entity for legal and official documents
3. Use an elevator pitch – working on language currently for a brief description of what San Francisco & Marin Integroup is

What do you think of the monthly Intergroup meetings? Based on results, recommendations are:
1. Most people who participated in the survey weren’t an IGR but those were shared that they attend meetings regularly and find the information useful
2. Other feedback included reducing committee reports and making more time for in-depth discussions
  1. Recommendation to provide more opportunities for discussion and in-depth discussions and break out to discuss group needs
  2. Recap the meeting for IGRS with monthly emails to take back to groups and include in the Buzz

Open for comments, questions and discussion:
1. Marty – Question/Statement: Was this a recommendation from the communication committee and not from IGRs? Personally speaking he refers to Intergroup as Central Office. Hard sell for him to call it anything else.
2. Clayton – Question: Wondering why Central Office was not chosen and instead SF & Marin Intergroup as it seems a more cumbersome name
  1. Charlie’s Reponse – leaning towards a broader description to define what Intergroup does. IFAA is the legal name for who we are but nobody knows what it is. Didn’t want to add to the confusion and felt it accurate to say we are “SF and Marin Intergroup”. IFFA is legal name for non profit status, ie, the Corporate Name and other names are associated with it. Central Office is just one of the things Integroup coordinates.

Treasurer – Jim
1. Revenues as of 6/30/2022 is $168K, under budget but ahead of prior year
2. Bookstore revenue 77% increase over prior year
3. Marin Teleservice made another generation contribution under “Fellowship”
4. Total Expenses $155K, ahead of prior year but under budget overall
5. National inflation June = 9.1% YOY, Intergroup Inflation = 7%
6. Deficit $7K slightly more than prior year but well under budget
7. Surplus likely in June after group treasury commitments turn over, and groups submit 7th Tradition contributions
8. Overall on budget and greater than 2 months of operation cash is excellent
9. Prudent reserve remains intact and will hold for the remainder of 2022
10. 298 Faithful fivers in June
  1. donated $4,183 (up 1 from prior month = $207)
  2. Average increased from $13.39 to $14.08
  3. Goal to hit 350 by end of year
  4. Balance sheet, narrative is available in the packet
  5. Question from Chad: How has inflation impacted our expenses?
    1. Response: Christina: Everything is increasing by 3-5%. Across the board hearing from contractors and their rates are increasing. Some expenses are paid annually and some things are going up by $50-$90

Executive Director – Christina
1. Central Office Volunteers
  1. Continue to make strides towards opening Central Office to volunteers.
  2. Thank you to Elena who helped with a volunteer plan today.
  3. Working on a COVID-19 policy specific to Special Workers and Central Office volunteers.
    1. Asking those to be vaccinated for COVID, however it does account for medical and religious exemptions and includes protocols in case of being exposed to COVID.
    2. Questions can be directed to [email protected]
2. Marin Pop Up Bookstore
  1. First Pop-Up Bookstore is August 15 at Marin General Service Meeting @Jackson Cafe in Vivalon, 930 Tamalpais Avenue, SF from 6:45pm to 7:30pm and 9PM to 9:30PM
  2. Open to AA members in Marin, AA Meetings/groups and service entities
  3. For pre-purchase, place orders by 2PM on Saturday, August 13th. We will bring additional literature to Marin General Service meeting that will be available for purchase with debit or credit card only.
  4. Spread the word at meetings. Flier and instructions on how to place orders being sent to bring back to groups.
  5. Jaime, volunteer book store liaison – thank you!
  6. Question (Chad): Why is it cash only? Is there a service fee associated when you purchase with credit or debit
    1. It was decided that if you purchase literature onsite at pop up store, credit/debit only as to streamline process.
    2. There is not a service fee to purchase with credit/debit when making a purchase online.

7:40 Intergroup Committee Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

Technology Committee – Fiona
1. Big thanks to the web committee for successfully completing the modernization project. Brian C, Michal P, and Tom H along with others who helped over the years. Moved to WordPress hosting (from Linux) which provides new support and security. Working with communications committee on content and functionality.
2. Web Committee meets the first monday of every month
3. Any questions [email protected]
4. Applause to Brian C for his service as webmaster and thank you to Tom H and Michael P, the new webmasters
Archives Committee – Mike
1. Meets at Central Office, and via zoom, on 3rd Sunday of each month
SF Public Relations Committee – Peter
1. Looking for new officers and open to having new people join
2. Next meeting on Monday 8/8 at 7PM on Zoom – information at aasfmarin.org for details
3. Reentry Fair on Friday 9/9 at St. Mary’s Cathedral – Resource fair for those reentering the community
4. Sunday Streets – August 21st in SOMA area from 11am to 4PM
  1. Call for volunteers and suggested fellowship opportunity
Sunshine Club – Clayton
1. Orientation for new volunteers held on July 27th, six new volunteers joined our roster – 5 from Marin and 1 from SF
2. Next orientation will be held on the last Wednesday of the month on 8/31 at 7:30 pm on Zoom. Notice in the Buzz the week before the orientation and on the event calendar.
3. Sunshine meeting scheduled for this coming Saturday for an AA member who is in acute care facility.
4. Call to IGRs to spread the word that Sunshine Club is providing this service and those wishing to schedule a meeting in person [email protected]
HelpChat Committee – Charlie
1. HelpChat needs a new committee chair and more volunteers
2. Email [email protected] for more info

7:50 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

Marin Teleservice – Jillian
1. Next Orientation will be August 23rd
2. SF and Marin Intergroup is now answering the phone everyday except Monday & Wednesday
SF General Service – Jackie
1. Area Summer Assembly is Saturday, 8/20 in Salinas, CA
  1. Hybrid event for full virtual participation
  2. Free admission and free lunch
2. Pacific Regional Forum is 9/16-18, 2022 in Salt Lake City ,Utah
3. San Francisco Unity Day is Saturday 10/8
  1. In-person at First Unitarian Church on O’Farrell and Geary with hybrid element
  2. Free box lunch in the courtyard

7:55 Old Business

Inventory Question #2 Break-out Session: Are we attracting Intergroup Representatives (IGRs) from all AA groups in SF and Marin Counties? Are we seeing a true representation of our fellowship? How do we get more IGR’s from unrepresented or underrepresented groups?
1. Groups broke out into breakout rooms, and selected an individual to report back to the full Intergroup meeting:
  1. Chris – Talked about benefits and the drawbacks of Zoom versus hybrid and consensus that we would attract more people in the Zoom meeting. Easier to get to during pandemic but lacking some of the fellowship of the room. Representation doesn’t feel accurate in all the meetings. Maybe it’s a pamphlet to reach out to meetings and clubhouses where the meetings are being held.
  2. Shannon – Issue of non representation of groups and the city and IGR’s. Thought directly reaching out to groups and going to meetings and speaking with secretaries.
  3. James – People were voicing engagement, hybrid and zoom accessibility and having it hybrid. More time for What’s on your mind. Could create events to educate what IGRs do.
  4. Chad – Regarding the response – group agrees that there isn’t enough representation and proactively pursuing and expanding representation.
  5. Jessie: We looked at each category and suggested getting more involvement from the IGRs themselves during these meetings – More time for What’s on your Mind. To keep this more interactive and allow for IGRs to participate. Accessibility: Agreement on suggested solutions listed. More accessible with Zoom and implementing some solutions already with the pop up book stores. Some brought up having a hard time not calling the name Central Office.

8:30 New Business

N/A

8:30 What’s On Your Mind

Jaime – Plug for July’s Grapevine, the prison issue with a story called “Too much cash” on the 7th Tradition
Courtney – Reality Farm is going back in person Thursday at 8:30pm at the Slovenian Hall in Potrero Hill
Ayn – Appreciation for the break out rooms. And pop up book store
Kaitlin – Marin County Young People in AA (MCYPAA)
1. Business Meeting is the first Sunday of the month 8/6
2. Upcoming event on 8/21: Meeting, Bocce Ball, BBQ from 12-4pm at the Marin Bocce Federation in San Rafael
Melissa – Grateful member of the group.

8:30 Targeted Message

Marin Pop-Up Bookstore starts August 15. Literature and chips can be pre-ordered (and select literature will be available for sale) – at the monthly Marin General Service meeting @Vivalon (930 Tamalpais, San Rafael) on Monday 8/15 from 6:45 to 7:30pm and 9 to 9:30pm.
Support our Intergroup service committees – check out our calendar on aasfmarin.org to see when the service committees meet.
Become a Faithful Fiver and support San Francisco and Marin Intergroup efforts to carry the A.A. message of hope and recovery to the still suffering alcoholic in Marin and San Francisco.

Next Intergroup Meeting: September 7 on Zoom

Adjourn with the Responsibility Statement

Meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm.

August 2022 Intergroup Meeting Treasurer’s Narrative

Year to Date Ended
June 30, 2022

REVENUES:
Bookstore Sales were a whopping 77% ahead of the prior year, and largely anticipated
as per budget. Though largely passthrough, they are a sign of foot traffic in the Central
Office and interest in the Intergroup. Marin Teleservice made another generous
contribution of $2,100 and as discussed in the last intergroup meeting, such
contributions have been parsed out of Group Contributions and detailed in their own
category under “Fellowship”. Group Contribution actuals are understated as compared
to budget because of that reclassing. Total Revenues are 7K or 4% under budget but
still ahead of the prior year.

EXPENSES:
The shortfall in Revenues was more than made up for with expenses at 9% under
budget. Budgeted Expenses were inflated to a failsafe or worst-case scenario, so this
was as to be expected. Budgeting as such appears to be the practical and prudent thing
to do considering current economic circumstances. National inflation for example was
9.1% year over year for June, and IFAA Expenses inflated to a lesser degree at 7%.

NET INCOME:
With Revenues slipping slightly and Expenses impacted by inflation, IFAA is currently
operating at a loss of $7K for the year. This was expected and consistent with the prior
year loss at the time, but to a slightly greater degree. We anticipate a flood of
Contributions to manifest in July as commitments turn over, though June was slightly
less than expected. That said, with a shift to in person meetings post pandemic, July is
likely to experience a greater flood than previous year and quite possibly eliminate the
current deficit.

LIQUIDITY RESERVE:
From a liquidity perspective, Unrestricted Cash, or cash for Operating Expenses above
our six months’ Prudent Reserve, remained steady at 2.3 months. Liquid reserves
greater than 2 months are rated “Excellent” so our Intergroup remains fiscally sound.
With a flood of contributions expected in July, liquidity will inevitably improve.

14 07, 2022

Intergroup News | July 2022

Intergroup Meeting Proposed Minutes
Wednesday, July 6, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

7:00 Getting Started

Open with the Serenity Prayer
Call to order. Statement of Purpose
Alison: Orientations are being held before each intergroup meeting at 6pm.
Review the minutes and agenda
Roll Call
1. 37 groups represented: 27 from San Francisco, 10 from Marin

New IGRs, Visitors, AA Anniversaries

1. New IGR’s: Sean L, Caitlin, Nick, Lana, Claire
2. Visitors: Jackie B-SF General Service
3. Anniversaries: Caitlin, Jackie B, Lea, Marty
Approval of agenda (housekeeping item)
1. There were no objections. Isae moved to approve the agenda, Alison seconded. Agenda was approved.
Approval of last month’s Intergroup Meeting minutes (housekeeping item)
1. There were no objections or corrections to the minutes. Caitlin made a motion to approve. Isae seconded. Minutes were approved.

7:10 Officer Reports

Board Chair
1. Welcome to the new board members: Judy, Andrew, Gloria.
2. Thank you to the outgoing board members: Alan, Luke and Drew.
3. Thank you to everyone who participated in Founders’ Day.
Executive Director
1. Thank you to Elena and everyone who stepped up to help with Founders’ Day.
2. Central Office tax return extension was approved. They are due in November. Working with an accounting firm and will be able to meet the deadline. Are behind schedule due to transition in executive directors.
3. Working with Jim to prepare next year’s budget to present to Intergroup in November and approve by December.
4. Today got a shipment of Grapevine books that had been ordered in May, including Fun in Sobriety book.
5. Would like to get volunteers in Central Office. If you are interested and have a couple of hours to dedicate to help with bookstore orders or teleservice line, email [email protected]. Volunteer manual is being updated.
6. Marin Pop-Up Bookstore: idea came out of February inventory. Issue of accessibility to Central office came up. Pop-Up Bookstore would happen at General Service meeting in San Rafael. Marin members could order literature. Central Office will get it ready and bring to General Service meeting, as well as some additional literature. Sales will happen before and after meeting. Proposal hinges on getting the word out and Pop-Up Bookstore Liaison position needing to be filled. Idea needs to go to Marin District. Doing the footwork to get ready. This would be a 1 year pilot, with a 6 month checkpoint.
Treasurer
Bookstore sales are up 90% compared to last year.
Contribution numbers are slightly skewed due to reclassifying categories.
Shift from individual to group contributions due to the pandemic.
Expenses are 8% below budget. Doing fine compared to budget.
Faithful Fivers increased to 297 in May, but slight decrease in contributions. More people are stepping up and giving what they can.
Questions: role of Sobriety by the Bay

7:30 Intergroup Committee Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

Public Relations: Peter reported that they need to rotate leadership. Next meeting is July 11 at 7pm. If someone wants to join, could familiarize them with the duties. Sunday Streets this Sunday. July 16 will be at Jessie Alley Street Fair. If you know a professional group that wants to learn about AA, Public Relations can reach out to them to share information about how the program works. Email: [email protected]
Archives: Anyone willing to help can attend the meeting. Time for Mike the Archives chair to rotate out. If you are interested, reach out to Mike at [email protected].
Sunshine Club: bring meetings to members due to illness, accident, or any disabling condition. Actively updating volunteer list and seeking new volunteers. Could benefit from more participation in business meetings.
Technology: can use help in sharing the message that Tech committee is looking for help, especially people with knowledge of Air Table and Word Press. Business meeting is the first Monday of the month.
Point: July issue was released. Always calling for submissions – please tell people they are looking for stories.
Buzz: Email [email protected] with upcoming events and flyers.

7:45 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

Bridging the Gap: helps alcoholics on the inside get to meetings on the outside. Seeing an uptick in requests. In close contact with H&I. Meet 1st Tuesday of the month, orientation 6:30pm, business meeting 7pm.
Marin General Service: call for stories. Updating the pamphlet “AA for the Black and African American Alcoholic”. Deadline is October 31. Developing 4th edition of Spanish Big Book. ⅔ of all contributions to GSO are under $100.
San Francisco General Service: Conference results are in. Info is on sfgeneralservice.org. Summer assembly: August 13. SF Unity Day: October 8, hybrid meeting.
Marin Teleservice: Next volunteer orientation is July 26 at 6:30, followed by business meeting at 7:30. 5 F, Sat, Sun shifts available. Central Office is now answering phones except Monday and Wednesday. 6 month sobriety requirement.
Marin H&I: 2 new groups came on board. Looking for people who have 6 months or more. For jails, 1 year sobriety requirement.
San Francisco H&I: next business meeting is July 16 at noon.

7:55 Old Business

Intergroup Question #1 Break-out Session – What is the primary purpose of the Intercounty Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (commonly referred to as “Intergroup”)?

Group 1: No further action needed. Suggestion to have educational outreach to groups on what IGRs do and what is Intergroup. One person wanted to explore “where is God in all of this?”

Group 2: List is comprehensive and well understood. Almost everyone agreed that no further action was needed. One person felt if any additional action is needed it’s about how IGRs communicate to their groups about everything Intergroup does. Have ironed out bottom/top issues that had previously been an issue.

Group 3: There are more action items we can take in particular, increase diversity of people’s experiences. How we make decisions within the board and how we relate decisions to the groups. Many people said no further action needed.

Group 4: Bullets demonstrate understanding of primary purpose and no further action needed. Should get the word out about service committees. Primary purpose still being fulfilled after many years of ups and downs.

Group 5: Went round robin about purpose of Intergroup.

Group 6: We are working toward primary purpose. Continued healing that has happened. Some gray area around what primary purpose is. How do we get better about carrying the message to the fellowship at large? How do we hold ourselves accountable?

Vice-Chair: If you’d like to add an action item to the agenda, the agenda is the group’s. Procedures for adding an agenda item were shared. Email the board chair at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting.

8:25 New Business

n/a

8:25 What’s On Your Mind

Maybe put out plea to Treasurers about why to send in contributions monthly rather than every half year. This can be communicated in the targeted message.
What is the circulation of The Buzz? Around 2,000. Holding steady. Broad cross section of the fellowship subscribe. But many people still don’t know about The Buzz. Open rate is impressive. People who subscribe are reading it.

8:20 Targeting Message

Support our Intergroup service committees – check out our calendar on aasfmarin.org to see when the service committees meet.
Sign up to become a Central Office volunteer. Email [email protected] for more information.
Sign up for The Buzz at aasfmarin.org/buzz to stay up-to-date on current events and activities in Marin and San Francisco.
Check out The Point at aasfmarin.org/the-point for local stories of recovery.

Next Intergroup Meeting: August 3 on Zoom

Adjourn with the Responsibility Statement

Meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm.

July 2022 Intergroup Meeting
Treasurer’s Narrative

Year to Date Ended
May 31, 2022

COMMENTARY

Revenues are slightly down from estimated, but still ahead of prior year. Bookstore
sales are still way ahead of prior year but that was already estimated so overall
revenues remain short. Expenses are also ahead of prior year consistent with inflation
but budgeted aggressively so both Net Income and Liquid Cash eroded slightly but are
still within plan. With a continued shift from individual to group contributions, there is
likely a lag in recording revenues that will likely make up for this in June / July and carry
us through the year with a bump in revenues from Gratitude month.

CONTRIBUTION REVENUES:

As stated, overall contributions were just 3% shy of plan due to the delay in revenue
recognition but 2% ahead of prior year. The shift from group to individual contributions is
not as apparent as $11K of Group Contributions were reclassified from Group to
“Fellowship Contributions” recognizing the generous contributions from Marin
Teleservice and Sobriety By The Bay as well as the contribution box in the Central
Office. This was noted after a mention in an IFAA meeting and seen in prior issues of
The Point, and so the accounting system was corrected to reflect that with the help and
direction from Central Office staff. Consequently, Group Contributions reflect true group
collections more accurately and contributions from non-group entities are being
recognized as appropriate. Faithful fivers slipped another $74 in May.

EXPENSES:

While recorded Revenues were 2% ahead of prior year, expenses increased by 8%
year over year consistent with inflation. This was expected and aggressively planned for
so expenses are still 8% under plan leaving a $11K hedge.

NET REVENUE: AKA “THE BOTTOM LINE”

Year to date, expenses exceeded revenues leaving us with a net loss of $4,834 well
within our failsafe budget. As stressed previously, June/July contributions will likely
bring us back “into the black” year to date and carry us throughout the year without
dipping into any Prudent Reserve.

LIQUIDITY RESERVE

Liquid or “unrestricted” cash dropped from 2.5 months to 2.3 months due to the modest
deficit. This is still an excellent rating with $60K in the bank to cover costs in excess of
our Prudent Reserve.

9 06, 2022

Intergroup News | June 2022

Intergroup Meeting Proposed Minutes
Wednesday, June 1, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

7:00 Getting Started

Open with the Serenity Prayer
Call to order. Statement of Purpose
Alison – Orientation Committee Announcement

New IGR orientation meetings monthly at 6PM before IGR meeting

Review the minutes and agenda
Roll Call
1. 35 groups represented: 21 from San Francisco, 14 from Marin

New IGRs, Visitors, AA Anniversaries
1. New Committee Chair: Cathy, Chair Teleservice San Francisco
2. Visitors: Paula, Unity & Service Conference, Jackie B, Chair SF General Service, Gloria, Marin Fellowship
3. Jennifer K. unknown, Rae – 17 years, Jillian, 19 years, Jerry G, 15 years Elaine, 29 years
Approval of agenda (housekeeping item)

No Objections
Motion to Approve; Brain C, Chad, Second

Approval of last month’s Intergroup Meeting minutes (housekeeping item)

Motion to approve; Brian C, Marty, Second

7:10 Officer Reports

Board Chair
1. New Recording Secretary, Jessie
2. Outgoing board members – Alan, Drew, and Luke – THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

2. Executive Director

1. 1. Founders Day – 75th anniversary of Intergroup on 6/11
    1. Volunteer sign up in the chat and flyers available to bring to meetings
  2. Central Office Updates
    1. Updated hours Saturday – 12PM-4PM Tuesday-Friday 10-6
    2. Internet – Upgrading to fiber did not happen as expected
    3. Bringing Volunteers back into Central Office starting July 5
      1. answer phone lines
      2. assist with literature orders and their tasks.
      3. two hour shifts
      4. Those interested in volunteering can contact [email protected]
  3. Marin Pop Up Bookstore
    1. Working on the idea for a pop up bookstore at Marin General Service in an effort to be inclusive and provide literature that is more accessible to people in Marin
  4. Follow Up announcement –
    1. Fancy tri-plated medallions are now for sale at Central Office.

3. Treasurer

1. Total revenues beat budget estimate
2. Bookstore sales doubled from previous year
3. Shift from individual giving back to group contributions
4. Expenses up from prior year to lesser extent
5. Income is greater than our expenses and we have in excess of two months of expenses in liquid cash
6. Faithful Fiver goal: we need 56 additional members to reach goal of 350
7. Income Statement, balance sheet and narrative sheet shared in packet
8. Questions: n/a

7:25 Elections

Board Elections
1. Voting instructions
  1. pick three candidates.
  2. Top three elected to board
2. Board of Director qualifications
  1. Sober member of AA actively engaged in AA recovery program
  2. Minimum of 2 years of continuous sobriety
3. Questions: (n/a)
4. Candidate Introductions (1 minute each):

Alex S:
1. Sobriety Date 9/6/2016
  1. IGR for 2 years.
  2. Former Buzz Editor.
  3. Former Secretary for Intergroup and did the minutes.
2. Communications committee
Andrew S:
1. Sobriety Date 11/27/2015
  1. Active member of Marin and San Francisco fellowship.
  2. Lawyer
  3. Assisted SF Public Relations in trying to raise awareness of AA at the schools
  4. Currently Archives Chair in Marin.
  5. Sponsor,
  6. Attends meetings.
Gloria E:
1. Sobriety Date 2/3/2007
  1. Works with sponsor/sponsees,
  2. Works the steps goes to three to four meetings a week.
  3. Served two terms as an IGR.
  4. Public admin and non profit background
Jaime G: Not Present
Judy W:
1. Sobriety Date 3/20/1994 (28 years)
  1. Attends at least three meetings a week,
  2. commitments at every level in meetings.
  3. Board of director of three non profit organizations and formerly on the board of the National Council of Alcoholism-Bay Area.
  4. Marketing and communications director for 24 years
Phil S:
1. Sobriety Date 2/5/1993.
  1. Service at committee level Bridging the Gap.
  2. 12 step service committee.

Ranked Choice Results for Newly Selected Board Members (not in any particular order):

Gloria E. (Marin), Judy W. (Marin), Andrew S. (Marin)

Outgoing board members messages from Alan G. and Andrew H. (Luke H. not present)

7:46 Intergroup Committee Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

The Point – Kristee
1. June Issue focus: Celebration of Central Office history
2. Calls for submissions
3. Looking for volunteers
4. Moved committee meeting to June 18th at 12:30 to not conflict w/ Founders’ Day
Technology – Brian C. stepping in for Fiona
1. On the website, raised the minimum contributions level from from $1 to $2 due to fraudulent activity
  1. Added bot verification to prevent fake donations
  2. Increased donation to $2 to deter fake donations

Archives – Mike O.
1. Preparing archive display at Founder’s Day on June 11
  1. Will be having a giveaway at Founder’s Day
Fellowship – Elena R
1. Founder’s Day
  1. June 11th Open House at Central Office 1-4pm

Scavenger Hunt
Raffle
Fellowship
Food
Literature discounts for individual use

Sunshine Club – Kate K.
1. Yet to bring AA meetings to homes
  1. COVID setback our ability to bring the service to those in need
  2. Looking for new volunteers
    1. Orientations to be scheduled in next two weeks
      1. Information on the Buzz
      2. Correction to email shared sunshine
2. Asking IGRs to announce to group
  1. [email protected]
Public Relations – Peter M
1. Calling card produced and distributed at in person events
2. Presented to Washington HS students and UCSF
3. Sunday Street Volunteer needed
4. Working on pamphlet intended for those with housing challenges
5. Next Meeting held on June 13, orientation held same evening
  1. Please direct questions to Peter at: [email protected]

8:05 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

SF General Service – Alison T
1. Delegates report from 71 conference available and to be presented at the district meeting this month
2. Call for stories
  1. 5th Edition Big Book
    1. Deadline Oct 31

Bridging the Gap – Phil S
1. Same updates from last month
2. Web page in progress
3. Strategizing over how to build more relationships with institutions to help the struggling alcoholics
4. Questions or volunteer opportunities: [email protected]
Marin Teleservice – Jillian
1. Next volunteer orientation June 28
2. Central Office taking over some of the days to answer phones as Central Office opens
  1. Looking for all night shifts
3. Marinteleservice.net
Marin General Service – Molly

Calls for stories
1. 5th Edition Big Book
  1. Deadline Oct 31
  2. Looking for submissions of those from underrepresented groups
  3. aa.org/submit-bigbook-english-5th

SF Teleservice – Cathy
Four hour commitments needed to answer the phone lines
Daily Coordinators – one coordinator filled, and one still needed

8:14 Old Business

Intergroup Inventory – Next Steps (Chip)
1. Will review what was learned from inventory in July Intergroup meeting
2. First question: “What is the primary purpose of Intergroup”?
  1. Proposing breakout rooms with 10 people in room
    1. Looking for volunteers to facilitate breakout rooms
3. Not a continuation of inventory; IGRs will discuss whether the inventory requires further action based on that question and the results from the Inventory

8:15 New Business

n/a

8:16 What’s On Your Mind

Paula: 7th annual Unity and Service Conference
1. July 8th-10th
2. Hybrid – Concord Hilton and Virtual w/ASL and Spanish translations
3. Flyer
Isae: Communications Survey Analysis
1. Feedback on website, The Buzz, The Point, format of meeting and our name
2. Working on how to share feedback in next meeting
Ayn:
1. Thank you to outgoing board members.
2. Happy about breakout rooms for inventory.
  1. Opportunity to get to know each other better.

8:20 Targeting Message

Founders’ Day Open House and 75th Anniversary of Intergroup is Saturday, June 11 from 1 to 4 pm @ 1821 Sacramento Street, in San Francisco.
1. Sign up to volunteer here. And attached is the
2. Flier – so please keep promoting it! And masks are encouraged, to help stop the spread of COVID.
New Central Office hours on Saturday 12-4.
1. Our Tuesday to Friday hours remain the same: 10-6.
  1. Stop by and check out our new specialty medallions for sale.
Be of service by joining an Intergroup service committee
1. service opportunities posted on our Events page
2. [email protected] for more information.
3. Central Office is welcoming back volunteers.
  1. Email [email protected] to learn more or to sign up for a 2-hour weekly shift.

Next Intergroup Meeting: July 6th on Zoom

Adjourn with the Responsibility Statement

June 2022 Intergroup Meeting Treasurer’s Narrative
Year to Date Ended
April 30, 2022

COMMENTARY
Revenues are still up, but so are costs – so our bottom line eroded slightly in April.
We’ve seen less of a switch from individual to group contributions, and just more group
contributions. The next two months are expected to be much the same, with a large
influx of revenues in July improving the slight downturn. Intergroup events are starting to
resume with Covid restrictions loosening, and some much-needed technical
improvements are being seen to fruition. This was factored into the 2022 operating
budget so the financial health of the intergroup remains excellent.

CONTRIBUTION REVENUES:
Overall contributions were as expected, exceeding budget by just 1% Bookstore sales
increased over last year by a whopping 92% (though largely pass through). Group
contributions were up 6% over last year but that doesn’t represent a shift from individual
to group as individual contributions are still holding at a 1% increase over prior. Of that,
faithful fivers were essentially flat losing one member in April down $9.

EXPENSES:
While Revenues increased by 12%, so did expenses though to a lesser extent up 9%
over last year. Primary factors include national inflation at 8.3% and the intergroup was
largely locked down last year so an increase in 2022 was to be expected. We are still
7% under our failsafe budget leaving a budget hedge of $7,588.

NET REVENUE: AKA “THE BOTTOM LINE”
Year to date, expenses exceeded revenues leaving us with a net loss of $1,037.59 (also
well within our failsafe budget). As compared to last year, performance is slightly worse
with a slight gain in 2021 flipping to a modest loss in 2022. While we will likely suffer
losses for the next two months, group contributions will likely flood in during July
improving our financial position substantially.

LIQUIDITY RESERVE
This net loss through April ate away at our robust liquidity reserve slightly leaving us
with 2.5 months of operating expenses in the bank, down from 2.7 months over March.
This is still an excellent rating with $65K in the bank to cover costs in excess of our
Prudent Reserve.

12 05, 2022

Intergroup News | May 2022

Proposed Intergroup Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, May 4, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

7:00 Getting Started

Open with the Serenity Prayer
Call to order. Statement of Purpose
Review the minutes and agenda
Roll Call
1. 39 groups represented: 25 from San Francisco, 14 from Marin

New IGRs, Visitors, AA Anniversaries
1. Mike, new IGR, High Noon Zoom; Josh B, new IGR Last Stop Men’s Step Study;
2. Jackie B, Visitor, Gloria, visitor; Andrew, Visitor
3. Charlie, 4 years
Approval of agenda (housekeeping item)
1. No Objections
2. Motion to Approve; John B, Ken R second
Approval of last month’s Intergroup Meeting minutes (housekeeping item)
1. Motion to approve; James H, Kathleen C second

7:15 Officer Reports

Board Chair
1. Bylaws
  1. No Questions or Comments
2. Board of Directors Seats coming due in June
  1. Filling 3 vacancies on Board; 7 Statements of Interest
    1. All the info for candidates will go out before next month’s meeting
    2. Any questions, comments email [email protected]
Treasurer
1. YTD- revenues are beating budget and prior year
2. Bookstore revenue doubled from prior year
  1. Not at pre-Covid levels but improving
3. Seeing shift in contributions back to more group rather than individuals
4. Expenses below prior year; Under our failsafe budget
5. 2.7 month’s of unrestricted cash for operating expenses
6. Faithful Fiver’s is holding steady; spread the word and get those numbers up
  1. Goal of 350 faithful fivers by end of year
7. Prudent Reserve
  1. Adjusted by -1.25%
8. Question: Jaime: Why change from a money market account?
  1. New ED required a new signatory and couldn’t be grandfathered into
  2. Can we get the slides?
    1. They are sent out with the minutes
Executive Director
1. As of yesterday (May 3) slowly taking back the phone services with help from SF and Marin Teleservice
2. Getting Fiber Optic internet, saving $300/year
  1. Once we get that online we can take back all the phones
3. Hours changing starting on June 4 – Saturdays 12pm-4pm; Tue-Fri remains 10am-6pm
4. Looking to purchase a small quantity of tri-plated medallions to try out, test the demand
  1. Looking to increase foot traffic and online sales at the bookstore
  2. Competition from Amazon and AAWS has cut into our sales
5. Founder’s Day on June 11th at Central Office
  1. Need a Fellowship Committee Chair
    1. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
    2. Nominated Jaime
      1. He is unavailable

7:40 Intergroup Committee Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

The Point – John B
1. New edition up
2. New Committee Chair – Bernadette
  1. THANK YOU JOHN! For all your years of service
3. New Editor – Kristee O
4. Looking for local stories
5. Looking for volunteers
Technology – Fiona
1. Looking for volunteers
2. Next meeting June 6, 6pm
Archives – Mike O
1. Not able to meet last month
  1. Not this Sunday but the next at Central Office at noon
2. Looking for stuff to showcase at Founder’s Day
  1. Will be having a giveaway at Founder’s Day
3. How do we get more archival material from today
  1. Document the current changes
Fellowship – Elena R
1. Founder’s Day
  1. June 11th Open House at Central Office
    1. Get together for food, fellowship and a Meet and Greet our new ED
    2. Need Volunteers to help
      1. Reach out to [email protected]
2. Looking for a new Committee Chair and volunteers
The Buzz – Christina G
1. Weekly listings of events and volunteer opportunities
2. What’s happening at the bookstore
3. Go to the website and subscribe!
  1. Under Members and Groups and click on The Buzz
Sunshine Club – Clayton B
1. Lost volunteer database, trying to repopulate the list
  1. Setback our ability to bring the service to those in need
  2. Looking for new volunteers
    1. Orientations at the end of this month
2. Want to volunteer? Need the service?
  1. [email protected]
Public Relations – Peter M via Christina G
1. Have a presentation with Washington High School tomorrow
2. Next meeting is May 9
  1. Please direct questions to [email protected]

7:55 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

SF General Service – Alison T
1. Post-Conference Assembly May 14, in Newark, CA
2. MCYPAA bonfire at Muir Beach
3. Call for stories
  1. Black and African American Alcoholic pamphlet update
  2. 5th Edition Big Book
    1. Deadline Oct 31
  3. NAATW (National Alcoholics Anonymous Technology Workshop) coming up
Bridging the Gap – Phil S
1. Developing the web page, almost there!
2. [email protected]
3. Strategizing over how to build more relationships with institutions to help the struggling alcoholics
Marin Teleservice – Marie R
1. Volunteer orientation May 24
2. Central Office taking over some of the days to answer phones
  1. Tue. and Thur.; Fri is getting forwarded to SF Teleservice
3. Marinteleservice.net
Marin General Service – Molly via Christina G
1. Check the slide in slide deck

8:05 Old Business

Bylaws (Discussion Item / Possible Voting Item)
1. Distributed amended bylaws with FAQ
  1. Asked for questions, comments, concerns by email for the past month, did not receive any
2. Main reason for update was to bring our bylaws into CA compliance
3. Board recommends approval of amended bylaws
  1. Chip G moves to approve, seconded Alison T
4. Question: # of Board members maximum 15
  1. If IG decides to increase Board members, if we get more group representation or need more to handle an increased workload it will be available
5. Roll Call vote (⅔ majority for approval)
  1. Per current bylaws, who can vote to amend bylaws?
    1. IGRs, Committee Chairs, and Board Members
  2. Yay 40
  3. Nay
  4. Abstain 2
    1. Motion passed; bylaws approved

8:20 New Business

8:25 What’s On Your Mind

Kaitlin D: question, adding something to agenda, add a MCYPAA liaison
1. Contact the [email protected]
2. Your committee can decide to send a liaison and get added to the agenda
Clayton: Tech Committee, when will the Central Office functionality be restored so Sunshine Club can communicate with its volunteers?
1. We are working with airtable managers to give committees the ability to send out mass emails to their volunteers
  1. making it a priority
Jackie B: Gratitude Center, 12 step clubhouse, holds many meetings online as well as in person. The President of the non-profit board is retiring, in need of a treasurer and meeting coordinator
1. Spread the word: sfgratitude.org

8:30 Targeted Message

Save the Date: Founders Day Open House and 75th Anniversary of Central Office is June 11 from 1 to 4 pm
1. Return to in-person events
2. Giveaways!
3. Show up and say hello
Help us better communicate with SF/Marin Fellowship – fill out our survey on aasfmarin.org
1. Our different forms of communication could use feedback on how best to serve the fellowship
2. Only takes a couple minutes to fill out
Be of service – join an Intergroup Service Committee
1. New Point Chair, New Point Editor, New Buzz Chair
2. Looking for Fellowship committee chair
3. Looking for a Recording Secretary

Next IG Meeting June 1 on Zoom

Adjourn with the Responsibility Statement

May 2022 Intergroup Meeting Treasurer’s Narrative
Year to Date Ended
March 31, 2022

COMMENTARY
When comparing February to January last month, a steep reduction in group contributions was noted. A closer look revealed the drop was due to abnormally high contributions in January rather than an abnormally low February (likely from groups turning over treasurer commitments). In March, the trend continued. Worse yet, individual contributions also declined the Intergroup suffered a bottom line net loss of $11K in the month of March. But due to the cyclical nature of contribution revenues noted above, a better indicator of financial performance would be a comparison to prior year to date. Such analysis revealed financial performance exceeded both prior year and budget and the financial health of the intergroup is excellent.

CONTRIBUTION REVENUES:
Overall contributions were $9.6K or 12% higher than last year and 4% over budget, with Group Contributions leading the charge up $4.2K. Individual contributions were slightly down <$1K> from last year likely due to a shift to in person meetings. Of that, faithful fivers were essentially flat.

EXPENSES:
Expenses declined by 5% over last year and were 7% below our failsafe budget.
NET REVENUE: AKA “THE BOTTOM LINE”
With contributions higher, and expenses lower, the intergroup has maintained a profit level of $3.3K consistent with this time last year. Also, we’re exceeding our failsafe budget by $11.5K leaving us in a favorable position one quarter into the year. I would expect group contributions to continue decline or level off, and at our current level of fixed expenses, we will likely experience a deficit until the next treasurer turnover in March.

LIQUIDITY RESERVE
The excess funds added to an already robust reserve (or unrestricted cash balance) of $70K, or 2.7 months of operating expenses. This is in addition to our 6-month Prudent Reserve giving us a liquidity rating of Excellent. Prudent reserve was calculated and adjusted in accordance with the approved budget and will be presented as appropriate in the next IFAA meeting.

14 04, 2022

Intergroup News | April 2022

Intergroup Meeting – Proposed Minutes
Wednesday, April 6, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

7:00 Getting Started

Open with the Serenity Prayer
Call to order. Statement of Purpose
Review the minutes and agenda
Roll Call
1. 53 groups represented: 31 from San Francisco, 22 from Marin

New IGRs, Visitors, AA Anniversaries
Jennifer, IGR Intimate Feelings; Jessie H, IGR Th. Night Women’s SF; Amanda, IGR There is a Solution; Horatio, IGR Anything is Possible; Lea, IGR Monday Nooners Novato; Melanie, IGR Girls Gone Mild; Elaine, IGR Quitting Time SR; Karen, IGR Awakenings

Visitors: Jackie B – Chair SF General Service

Anniversary: Chip G – 40 yrs.; Judy W – 28 yrs.; Mike – 24 yrs.; Jaime – 24 yrs.

Approval of agenda (housekeeping item)
Jaime motion to approve; Chip G 2nd
Approval of last month’s Intergroup Meeting minutes (housekeeping item)
Kathleen correction: John B’s email incomplete – [email protected]
Nikki corrected the attendance to reflect that Fiona B was in attendance as IGR for Too Early
Motion to approve: John; 2nd: Marty

7:15 Officer Reports
1. Board Chair – Charlie
Everyone got the link re: 2022 budget review, which is our main topic of discussion for tonight. Thank you Jim and Christina. We are a little late getting the budget out, we have a new treasurer. On the radar to have 2023 out closer to end of year;

Bylaws to be updated; all should have pdf’s; thanks Governance Committee to get this in layman’s terms.

Communications Survey – deferred to Isae. Putting together a communications survey. One major theme from inventory is communication; and this survey will help us improve that. We will be sharing it in The Buzz this Friday and also email; share the link please.

Charlie: June Board of Directors elections; think about nominations; need to receive statements of interest; qualifications from bylaws; nominating committee has been formed. Term for the Board of Directors is 3 yrs.

Treasurer’s Report – Jim
Year to Date revenue: $71,027 (38% over last year); contributions went way down in February; will put plus or minus figure in. As long as we are ahead of budget we’ll be OK at the end of year. Doing well for expenses – 22% ahead of budget.

Costs & bottom line: Costs: $51,267 ($2,500 over last); ran a surplus YTD of $14,318 (last year about break even); net revenue $14,900 ahead of last; estimated 7% growth rate on income; unrestricted cash went up to 3 months. Expenses in bank; rating: excellent. Met budget, over 2 mos. Unrestricted cash.

Faithful Fivers: went up 8 more members; down total $ amount. Goal: 350 Faithful Fivers by end of year.

Danny Question: any ideas on increase in contributions?
Answer: a lot more groups – and more meetings in person.
Danny: Or – meetings no longer paying rent?
Nikki: also commitments turnover is when groups send in $$. Thank you Jim!

Executive Director – Christina
Working through committee meetings; remind all meetings to register as trusted servants. GSO is offering mixed-title discounts based on quantity purchase; is pilot program; will measure impact; Operations Manual being updated; will put in The Buzz. Looking to fill several commitments: Buzz Editor, Fellowship Committee Chair, Intergroup Rep for SF H&I; Marin General Service Liaison.

Caitlin volunteered for The Buzz editor position. Founders Day will be on June 11, 1-4 pm; we need volunteers. Reminder: Central Office is open Tues-Sat, 10 am to 6 pm.

7:35 Intergroup Committee Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

The Point:
John: we take all kinds of submissions; think of The Point as a local version of the AA Grapevine; biggest news: Kristee O. is new editor! Thanks Christina, Isae, Eileen for grooming her. Looking for May submissions; [email protected]. I have been interim chair for 5 years – time for spirit of rotation and we need a new Point Committee Chair.

Archives:
Mike – this month’s regular archives meeting is on Easter Sunday, so that meeting is being canceled and we will be back in May; got submissions from Stockton; will help out with Founders Day – have stuff to give away.

Sunshine Club:
Kate: Bring meetings to members unable to attend live/in-person meetings. Sunshine Club is getting ready to start bringing in person meetings again and we need volunteers for SF & Marin. IGR’s please share this; many do not know this service exists; [email protected].

The Buzz:
Isae: Excited to welcome Caitlin! Events – go 2-3 weeks out for announcements; Tuesday Chip back to brick and mortar.

Technology:
Fiona: Need volunteers; ask is to share a flier for the Tech Committee in meetings.

7:50 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

SF Bridging the Gap:
Phil: Rudy is co-chair; we liaison with H&I and SF PR. They are developing a web page on the SF General Service website.

Marin General Service:
Molly: this is the height of conference season; GSRs are gathering group consciences. If you want to participate in reviewing agenda topics, your group needs a GSR.

San Francisco General Service:
Alison: your group can still participate in virtual events – there is one this weekend and it is informal. You can also send in your group conscience. At the pre-conference assembly in Petaluma, they had nametags designating people that were open to hugs, no hugs, etc.

Marin H&I:
Karen: 2 facilities open/live. However, not: Marin General or Juvenile Hall. Helen Vine Detox Center is happening; looking for speakers/secretaires. We need lots of volunteers. Next meeting is 4/12 at the Alano Club – orientation 6:15 pm.

8:00 Old Business

Intergroup Inventory Debrief
Nikki gave attendees the opportunity to provide any thoughts on the inventory feedback and reminded people that there is a process for adding agenda items.
Budget (Discussion Item)
Jim: not going into slides in detail; did worst case scenario; realistic with revenues; pessimistic w/expenses; would we be okay? Yes. Revenues 7% increase (may be aggressive); generous w/committee expenses; overall expense: 17% increase just in case; budget – fail safe approach.

Nikki opened the meeting up for questions and comments.
Danny: Thanks Jim; with meetings that are virtual – concerned we’re not capturing $$; 7th Trad does not come up sometimes at those meetings; Jim: I’d like to analyze, look at actual contributions and see how many virtuals are making contributions; Nikki: important point – if we see Traditions not being followed, we can speak up at mtg; ask for business mtg if they don’t have one.

Molly: Want to point out – re budget – Founders Day was a Marin one; should be one in SF; Marin teleservice has its own funding; want to have Marin feel supported by SF; Nikki: we hear it a lot.

Karen: I represent a 7 day/wk zoom mtg; we make lots of contributions – always been large meeting; many small meetings do not contribute;

Nikki: ready to vote? In favor green check; against – red; Vote: out of 53, 38 in favor; 65% approve; APPROVED. Thanks Jim!

8:15 New Business
1. Bylaws: Luke – please look at the Primer and FAQ’s. Hopefully your questions are addressed in the FAQ’s. Christina thanks for FAQ’s; if any other questions, Paul and Luke’s contact info is on the primer sheet; want to make sure of transparency, no questions left unanswered.

Been working with outside counsel; bylaws are core of board; we need to make the bylaws in compliance with CA nonprofit law; originally they were modeled after NY intergroup. The counsel provided revisions, reviewed them; the changes are not discretionary; re CA nonprofit law – may lose status as nonprofit if changes not made; if not compliant, open to actions; CA law does not allow Executive Director to vote. Also, in the current bylaws they do not give enough time for IGR’s to review board candidates. We are not voting on this tonight; so there is plenty of time to reach out and discuss with your meetings.

Charlie: if we are to execute the bylaws in the least amount of time that means we will vote, then send to the attorney and then do one final ratification – which could be late summer early fall.

8:25 What’s On Your Mind
Thatcher: wondering about in person meeting for this mtg?

8:30 Targeted Message
1. Service!! with committees;
2. Committee Openings: SF H&I liaison SF; Fellowship Chair
3. Volunteers for Founders’ Day, June 11; next meeting May 4.

Adjourn with the Responsibility Statement

Next Intergroup Meeting is Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Our monthly meeting will continue to be held online per local guidelines from the health department until further notice. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

Treasurer’s Narrative

Month and Year to Date Ended
February 28, 2022

COMMENTARY

In the absence of an approved budget, I felt it beneficial to provide some sort of comparative data for the intergroup as was done in previous months. When I compared February to January, I was immediately struck by the steep reduction in group contributions. A closer look revealed abnormally high contributions in January, rather than low contributions in February – likely from groups turning over treasurer commitments. So a better indicator of financial performance would be to compare year to date figures this year with the same figures from last year. Here’s what I found:

CONTRIBUTION REVENUES:

Overall, contributions were $19.6K or 27% higher than last year with Group Contributions leading the charge up $17K. The only reduction in contributions came from individuals down <$1K> likely returning to in person meetings.

EXPENSES:

With a sharp increase in contributions, and a monthly inflation rate of 7.5% and 7.9% for January and February respectively, expenses rose to a lesser extent up $2,563 or 5%.

NET REVENUE: AKA “THE BOTTOM LINE”

With contributions significantly higher, and costs up to a lesser extent, we were profitable year to date February to the tune of $15K, as compared to last year which was practically break even at a <$641> loss. The excess funds added to an already robust reserve (or unrestricted cash balance) of $77K, or just over 3 months of operating expenses. This is in addition to our 6-month Prudent Reserve.

Bottom line is we’re doing Excellent.

A WORD ABOUT THE BUDGET

The budget proposed was a worst-case scenario or can be described as a failsafe. In other words, even if we were to experience a loss of <$33K>, IFAA and the Central Office would survive. Our budgeted services and infrastructure, our special workers, bookstore, and website would remain intact. Just 2 months in, we are operating with a surplus of $15K, in other words we’re off to a good start. With the uncertainty in our financial climate, this is likely a good thing.

15 03, 2022

Intergroup News | March 2022

Intergroup Meeting – Proposed Minutes
Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

7:00 Getting Started

Open with the Serenity Prayer
Call to order. Statement of Purpose
Review the minutes and agenda
Roll Call
1. 47 groups represented: 27 from San Francisco, 20 from Marin

Orientation Announcement (Alison T)
Orientation is at 6pm directly before the monthly Intergroup meeting and they discuss the role of an Intergroup Rep, what we do at Intergroup and the service committee opportunities. The Orientation Committee has updated their orientation resources and those are available to everyone. Please email [email protected] for details.
New IGRs, Visitors, AA Anniversaries
New – Thatcher IGR Not a Glum Lot, Dave G. AIGR Monday Night Stag (Tiburon), Andre B. IGR Monday Night Stag (Tiburon)
Visitors – Jackie B SFGS, Brian
Anniversaries – Tanya 3 years, Andre 6 years, Joel 3 years, Courtney 1 year, Ken 26 years, Nikki 15 years
Approval of agenda (housekeeping item)
Motion to approve: Michelle W; Second: Caitlin
Approval of last month’s Intergroup Meeting minutes (housekeeping item)
Motion to approve: Chip; Second: Isae

7:10 Officer Reports

Board Chair – Charlie
1. Inventory Debrief
  1. Thank you to everyone who attended the Inventory session and for the Ad Hoc Inventory Committee for organizing it.
  2. Notes from the Inventory were included in the packet so please review them. In the coming months, we will be discussing them more in-depth.
2. 2022 Budget review
  1. We will take a considerable amount of time today to review the 2022 budget and thanks to Jim and the Finance Committee for their work. Tonight we will discuss and ask questions about the budget, and next month we will vote to approve the budget.
3. Bylaws to be updated
  1. For newer Intergroup members, we are on a two-year rotation to update our bylaws. We have met with an attorney to help us be in compliance with California law – so those edits need to get approved. We will start this process next month and will present the revisions. We will aim to approve those changes in the next couple of months.
4. 3 Board of Directors seats coming due in June
  1. For individuals that may be interested in serving on the board, the time to start thinking about it is now. You can nominate yourself or someone else and next month we will share the Statement of Interest form which needs to be filled out and submitted to the Nominating Committee. We want at least 6 candidates – and would like Marin representation, as well as diverse individuals (gender, race, and identity).
Executive Director – Christina
1. Grateful to witness the Inventory process
2. Prayer & Meditation book in stock at Central Office. Order your copy now at aasfmarin.org
3. Committees need support! Please carry this message back to your groups as it is a great way to be of service – and you do not need to be an Intergroup Rep to join.
4. Operations Policy Manual is currently being reviewed and updated. Expect to see a copy of it in an upcoming Buzz edition.
5. Continuing to work on improving our internet bandwidth at Central Office. This is the first step in bringing volunteers back into the office.
6. Attending PRAASA this weekend.
Treasurer’s Report – Jim
1. Format is a little different this month because we do not have an approved 2022 budget just yet. Instead looking at our January numbers and compared them to last January 2021 and December of last month.
2. Group Contributions: $37,0519, 56% increase from Jan 2021 and 31% increase from Dec 2021
3. Individual Contributions: $7,131, 10% decrease from Jan 2021 and 47% decrease from Dec 2021
4. Overall revenue is $47,642, 42% increase from Jan 2021 and 3.1% increase from Dec 2021
5. Net revenue is $17, 125, 132% increase from Jan 2021 and .5% decrease from Dec 2021
6. Unrestricted Cash: $76,006 equal to approx 3x monthly operating expenses
7. Financial rating for Jane is “Excellent” and still trending up
8. Faithful Fivers: 9 fewer members in January. Go to aasfmarin.org to become a faithful fiver! Our goal for year end 2022 is to have 350 Faithful Fivers.

7:27 Intergroup Committee Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

Archives Committee – Mike
1. Meets 3rd Sunday of the month in person. Hybrid zoom meeting is open at 12pm
2. Service positions available – especially for organized folks! Come help us sort the history of AA in SF/Marin
3. Working on finding things to contribute to the 75th anniversary celebration.
The Point – John B
1. Thank you to Michelle G for 5-years of service as Point Editor
2. Business meeting on 2nd Saturday of month via zoom at noon – next at 3/12
3. Need a new chairperson and Point Editor in keeping with our spirit of rotation
4. Word documents, audio files, artwork all accepted
5. Ideas for April – 4th step, tradition, concept, anything AA-related email to [email protected]
Sunshine Club – Kate K.
1. Mission is to bring AA meetings to individuals who are unable to attend regularly scheduled meetings.
2. No in person meetings at this time due to COVID, volunteers still making phone calls to isolated AA members
3. Email [email protected] for info, to request a meeting, or to volunteer
4. Planning to hold a business meeting this month
Fellowship Committee – Elena
1. Need a new Fellowship Committee Chair!!
2. If you are interested in joining the Fellowship Committee or being the Chair, please reach out to Elena at [email protected]
Help Chat – Caitlin
1. Great opportunity for 12-step work and requires one-year of sobriety
2. Responding to requests from Intergroups regarding our HelpChat service – including from New Jersey and Vancouver BC
3. Created a Google Form for Help Chat orientation: https://forms.gle/xNzdVVQTUiMDTwMU9
Tech Committee – Fiona
1. Mtg is on the 1st Monday of every month at Zoom
2. Tech Committee does not require you to be too tech savvy – maybe you have an idea of how to improve some piece of technology. We are looking for folks with experience with WordPress or Airtable
3. Flier went out in the Buzz Committee
4. Shot-out to Andrew, Brian and Lydia – who have been working so hard
5. Brian talked about a recent website hacking in January by a bitcoin mining program – yay to the Tech Team for working on this and keeping our website safe. Join the Tech Committee if you want to help out with things like this!
6. Email [email protected] for more information
SF Teleservice – Jeff
1. Jeff is the new co-chair for SF Teleservice, along with Cathy C.
2. Continued need for volunteers!
3. Orientations held on the 3rd Monday of every month at 6pm at Central Office
4. Jeff shared his personal experience with SF Teleservice and calling in to get help. He is now the chair and six years sober!
5. Please make an announcement to your groups to volunteer: [email protected]
6. Chair turning over in Feb 2022
The Buzz – Michelle
1. Weekly digital newsletter and includes service opportunities and upcoming events. Very helpful in giving Intergroup Rep reports
2. aasfmarin.org/buzz to subscribe
3. If you want to post in the Buzz please do so by Monday 12 pm for the upcoming Friday edition.
Public Relations – Scott B
1. Calling card is completed and we’re using it – used it at the in-person event on 2/11 that was in the Tenderloin
2. PSAs on the KGO radio station
3. Housing Challenged pamphlet is coming along
4. Committee needs support with outreach to local media outlets
5. Email [email protected] for info and to get involved!
6. Next mtg 3/14 @ 7pm

7:45 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

Marin General Service – Molly M
1. General Service Conference:
  1. Bill and Bob developed the General Service Conference and this was the structure they put in place. The General Service Conference is the collective group conscience of all AA groups. The agenda topics are the main way this gets communicated.
  2. Through April 10, groups will be discussing agenda topics and group consciences will be brought to area delegate, Jennifer. She will take them to the General Service Conference at the end of April in NYC.
SF General Service – Alison T
1. March 4-6 PRAASA (Pacific Region AA Service Assembly)
2. SF General Service 06 Agenda Topics Workshop is March 12 from 10-1:30 pm
3. Abridged topics listed on SF General Service website under GSR Resources: https://sfgeneralservice.org/
  1. Also check out SFGS website for useful resources for GSRS and other trusted servants
4. For Committee Chairs, Jackie B. is able to come to your committee meetings to discuss any agenda topic ideas that your committee would like to discuss

7:55 Old Business

Intergroup Inventory Debrief – Chip
1. Job of inventory committee is to conduct and organize the inventory session for the member groups that were represented
2. It is now up to the IGRs to discuss next steps. But do look at the inventory notes prepared by Jackie.
3. Discussion from Committee members and/or Inventory participants:
  1. Fiona – committee met for several months and did a lot of work; so grateful to the committee members, the people who showed up, the board and the facilitator. Thank you, it was inspiring
  2. Jaime – good process and was glad to be a part of it. The moderator was very good.
  3. Isae – on the Board and a part of the Inventory committee. Great process. Underscore idea that no one is in charge – or that we all are – so please take a moment to read it and it is up to all of us. Can look at what role we want to lay in that feedback.
  4. Kathleen – since it was a subset of individuals, we may get more people interested in Intergroup if it was made available to more folks. Can we put it up on the website?
  5. Nikki – one of our targeted messages is to bring the Inventory notes back to your meetings and there are procedures if you want to discuss any of these ideas further at the Intergroup level

8:09 New Business

2022 IFAA Budget
1. A budget is an estimate of revenue and expenses
2. To develop the 2022 budget, Jim looked at the figures using the actual data from 2018-2021 as well as January 2022 for current trends
3. Biggest question to address, can we maintain IFAA services if we were to operate at a worst case scenario deficit? For example, if we had another 2020 would we survive
4. We expect to vote on the 2022 budget at the April 6 meeting
5. For revenue we are looking at a 7% increase. We anticipate $104,100 in individual contributions which is a 2% decrease from 2021, however we expect group contributions to be at $191,500 (a 4% increase from 2021).
6. For expenses and bottom line, the important thing to note are our committee expenses. Our committees carry the message in the way our groups cannot. For committees that provided a budget those numbers are included – for others their 2021 budget numbers are carried over. Bottom line total expenditures is $340,014 which is a 17% increase from 2021. If you compare income to expenses that would result in a decrease of $32,844 however because our unrestricted cash is at $69,781 our ending balance for 2022 would be $26,937.47. This would leave us with 1.3 month’s left over (in addition to our 6 month prudent reserve). These budget numbers take into account any uncertainty for the coming year.
7. Please take the budget back to your groups in preparation for a vote next month.
8. If you or your groups have any questions, please reach out to Jim at [email protected]

8:25 What’s On Your Mind

1. N/A

8:26 Targeted Message

Review the Group Inventory Notes with your Group and the Budget!!!
Committee Openings:
1. you do not have to be involved with Intergroup to be a committee member
2. great opportunity to be of service
Be a Faithful Fiver
Subscribe to the Buzz!

Adjourn with the Responsibility Statement

Next Intergroup Meeting is Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Our monthly meeting will continue to be held online per local guidelines from the health department until further notice. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

Treasurer’s Report

2022 OPERATING BUDGET FOR IFAA

WHAT IS A BUDGET?

www.investopedia.com “A budget is an estimation of revenue and expenses over a specified future period of time and is usually compiled and re-evaluated on a periodic basis”

For our intergroup purpose, a budget ensures we can sustain our Central Office, Bookstore, Communications, Website, Databases, Intergroup Events, and Committee Expenses; and still maintain non-profit status
We are not necessarily bound to the budget (see below)
Contribution variances, unanticipated expenses, and extraordinary items (natural disasters, government mandates, hyperinflation) may require amendments based on group conscience
Budgeted expenses are adjusted as appropriate

GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS AND ANALYTICS:

Prior 4 years analyzed, utilized best estimate (4 Yr Avg, 2021, 2018/2019)
Current monthly trends analyzed (Jan 2022 vs Jan 2021 vs Dec 2021)
Known factors considered (contractual expenses, regulatory compliance, committee budget requests)
Covid-19 measures caused the most volatility in financials, and remain the primary unknown for budgeting purposes
Expenses generally aggressive with a 7.5% increase for inflation (January CPI)
Revenues also aggressive based on trends and easing restrictions, but to a lesser extent – a more realistic estimate was budgeted

COMPONENTS OF REVENUE ASSUMPTIONS:

BOOKSTORE SALES

While there we saw only a moderate increase in bookstore sales from 2020 to 2021, there was a 77% increase from Jan of 2022 as compared to Jan 2021. So, while a 50% increase to $50K appears aggressive, it is still well below 2018 and 2019

GROUP CONTRIBUTIONS

Increase is in line with 2020 – 2021 trend, but still below 2019 levels

INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Budget is in line with 2020 and 2021, far above 2018 and 2019. Jan 2022 as compared to Jan 2021 is essentially the same, but sharp decline over December

COMPONENTS OF EXPENSE ASSUMPTIONS:

INTERGROUP COMMITTEE BUDGETS (RETAINED)

- - Greater of 2022 budget request, or 2021 actual expenses
  - Budget carried over from 2021 if no budget was requested

OUTSIDE SERVICES

- While $36K was budgeted for 2021, only $19K was used. Contractors estimated $18K for 2022, another $6K was estimated for contingent expenses for a total of $24K for 2022 (website bug fixes, credit card interfaces, database management)

BOTTOM LINE COMMENTARY:

Estimates for contributions were as realistic as possible, while estimated expenses were more of a worst-case scenario given high inflation was added and all prior budgets and actuals retained
Even if that were the case, a $32.8K deficit would only reduce our Unrestricted Cash to $33.5K or 1.3 months. We would still report a “Fair” financial rating, and maintain our Prudent Reserve in its entirety
Such an operating loss coupled with sufficient cash for operating expenses would also ensure we maintain federal non-profit tax-exempt status, and still support all of our current service offerings

SOURCE DATA:

2022 BUDGET (w/2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 data)

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oNTyNhT9t4QdXFIOjxXSl6b0NnIUbQve

2022 INCOME STATEMENT (w/Prior Month and Prior Year comparisons)

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oNTyNhT9t4QdXFIOjxXSl6b0NnIUbQve

INTERGROUP COMMITTEE BUDGET REQUESTS

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1btEpKSS0j59XdpTJgGMX72E5BuUsLKgPaiY6M3u0s5k/edit#gid=839811294

15 02, 2022

Intergroup News | February 2022

Intergroup Meeting – Proposed Minutes
Wednesday, February 2, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

7:00 Getting Started

Open with the Serenity Prayer
Call to order. Statement of Purpose
Review the minutes and agenda
Roll Call
44 groups represented: 26 from San Francisco, 18 from Marin

Orientation: Alison: new orientation materials; we do orientation before this meeting; materials available for anyone; its been modified; have pdfs updated, there is a link
New IGRs, Visitors, AA Anniversaries

New IGRs: Kate P – Leaky Cauldron; Dillon S – Weekend Warriors; Sonya – Came to Believe; Gina C – Marin a Vision for You
Visitors: –
Anniversaries: Charlie – 6 yrs, Elena – 10 yrs, Kaitlyn – 2 yrs, Alison – 6 yrs, John – 2 yrs! HBD everyone!!!!

Approval of agenda (housekeeping item)

Motion to approve: James; Second: Chip T

Approval of last month’s Intergroup Meeting minutes (housekeeping item)

Motion to approve: Isae; Second: John B

7:05 Officer Reports

Board Chair – Charlie: Welcome Flip as new Recording Secretary; Thank you Alex; welcome Christina Exec. Dir.; been on boarding her for last month; discussion on 2022 events – taking all ideas, gathering best course of action; either hybrid or workshops to get the most out of our intergroup and fellowship.

1. Christina: Central office open 10-6 T – S, purchase literature – have a lot of books in stock; placed grapevine order. Marcus printed updated meeting sched. However meeting schedule constantly changing so go to website for current info; updated mask mandate – retail space so wearing masks, if you come wear mask. Holiday in February so closed on Feb. 15. Notice will be in Buzz. I hope to soon get vols back in office and answering phones; grateful to Marin and SF teleservice for answering phones. One thing to work on is ensure internet connection strong enough to hold myself and volunteers. Meetings that needs group insurance – renewal in mid Jan; reach out to Marcus [email protected] to get. Tomorrow is 30 days on job –working on accounting, bill pay, donations; grateful to contributors. Year end so tax forms need to be filled. More to learn but look forward to committee meetings and meeting you; IFAA celebrated 75th anniv. This week.

Treasurer – Jim B

YEAR END 2021:

Group Contributions: $183,571 – $23,615 under budget YTD
Individual Contributions: $106,737 – $12,148 under budget YTD –
1. $11,467 is just 4% under
Overall surplus / deficit: $571 surplus > $20,000 expected deficit – expenses were $31K under
Unrestricted Cash: $51,618 equal to approx 2.1 monthly operating expenses (1.5-2 “good”)
Financial rating for the Year is “Excellent”
Faithful Fivers: 7 additional members $192 increase over Nov. 5% increase annualized is a big # – every bit counts; user website to become a Fiver!
Jaime – Very comprehensive thank you!

7:30 Intergroup Committee Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

Tech Committee – Alex B: Chair Welcome Fiona new chair Tech committee; – part of OG tech committee years ago. Excited to be back; want to get to know existing members, get new members. Mtg with Christina soon.
The Point – John B bells and whistle on new site but having difficulty uploading content; monthly mtg 2nd Sat. looking for content for March (3rd step/trad/concept) include jokes artwork, anything re AA local
Sunshine Club – Clayton

In person mtgs may resume;
Looking at health regs; hospital policies also in flux; Alan Gaines was there – we appreciate Alan coming helping us out.
Doing phone calls? No one has requested phone call – zoom has filled that purpose.
Q: Alison: in last month targeted message – wasn’t sure about announcement – is it vols can make calls? What should we say? Clayton: IGR’s announce we continue to make phone calls; hope was to find people who want a phone call. Q: Allison: so it’s around awareness building? Yes, the phone service. Hopefully infection rate will go down and will begin in person mtgs.

Ad-Hoc Inventory Committee – Chip G

Sent meeting materials for inventory 2/5;
This is not a debate, not going to get anything done, nothin decided; just air thoughts

Archives Committee – Mike

archives; chair; meet 3rd sun. in person –
organizing all material; slowed down lately looking for new archival material – please submit;
look forward to contributing materials for 75th anniversary.
Archives @ aasfmarin.org

Public Relations – Peter M

We try to carry message to public; you can help: know a place for presentation or if you work somewhere that would like a presentation; put us in touch with your HR
Calling card is outreach tool; in person reentry event 2/11 – recovery “rally” – by adult probation. About drug overdose crisis – info table;
outreach through media: message on KGO and working on other stations.
Pamphlet for housing challenges; next mtg. 2/14 7 pm.

Elena – fellowship –

as Charlie mentioned looking forward to discuss ideas for events etc. excited to make those come true.
Had a mini mtg and talked re first event on founders day in June – hopefully can do something in person; will have backup plan if not possible; focus on 75th anniv.
As anchor; we’d love all interested in becoming comm. Member; would also love a chair for the Fellowship committee! If you know someone not current IGR – not requirement – is interested? [email protected] (party planner?)

Isae – Buzz

Announcing it: keep it fresh, limit repeat announcements (2x max)
Make it relevant
Focus on AA – content sponsored by an AA group, conference or service entity, aligned with 12 traditions.

7:45 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

Jillian/ Marin teleservice – did have successful committee turnover; Todd L. made new chairperson and still answering phones based on vol supply; life is good. Nikki: thank you for service.

Molly – Marin general svce. Upcoming: PRASA – Alison is SF gen. svce will also talk PRASA.

Alison – SF Gen svce – last month gave teaser topics – maybe graphic novel of BB.

SF Gen Svce has new website. Great resource for GSR’s; calendar of events etc. sfgeneralservice.org/calendar.
PRAASA 2022: March 4-6; hosted virtually by Oregon Area 58; online reg for PRAASA now available thru 35; praasa.org.

SF H&I – next business mtg. 3/19 12 noon.

14 H&I zoom mtgs. 3 in person – St. Francis; Father Alfred’s; Skip Byron
Lit. continues to be delivered to facilities
Expenses/contributions down but we are sound at this time; still need contributions for lit.
Contacting treatment facilities for in-person mtg status
Area 62 looking for regional Chair for H&I Norcal.

Karen Grant – liaison Marin H&I; our mtg is 2/8 marin alano club; orientation 6:15; biz mtg 7:15 – live. Need new chair. Jails reopend – first mtg next Monday.

Bridging gap: Phil – liaison. New co secretary Rudy San Miguel; same position as sunshine club and H&I – access. Talked to UCSF, adult probation event we will be there. Made decision to make our own web page to go on GS website.

7:55 Old Business

Intergroup Inventory 2/5

Chip – sent out info – will send reminder later this week; all zoom. 10 am 2/5. This is not a debate; conduct shows what’s it about – cross talk not accepted. Commenting inappropriate. Just opp to express yourself – summarize responses at the end and distribute; will put top concerns on intergroup to-do.

Carol Q: is facilitator actively participating? Chip: yes, presenting Q’s – round robin, Question 1 etc. Will be very involved. Nikki: is outside intergroup; yes, but very involved in GS. Was a trustee and experienced.

Melissa: if I had not been on that committee I would wonder about the facilitator. The committee has met with him for – Chip: 5-6 mos; he is one impressive leader. Going to make the process work.

Isae: Chip thank you for work on this; encourage IGR’s to participate. Q’s are great, great opp to provide feedback.

Jackie: (from SF GS) added plug for how important inventories are; do every year at district. Important to spiritual health of service body. Principles at work – willing to look at ourselves; not to be missed.

Chip: TY Jackie will be scribe.

Nikki: Much thought into Q’s – Chip how were Q’s determined? Chip: started with a whole bunch; wanted to boil down to 7. Possible we won’t get through all. Had 12-15 people attend mtgs. Had lots of discussion; boiled down to 23, had comm members vote for top 8. Top 7 made final cut.

Nikki: 2/5 10 am.

Chip: got login info, Q’s.

7:56 New Business

Nikki: working on budget things – next month will have draft budget to review.

8:25 What’s On Your Mind

Alison – the pdf’s for orientation I put in chat; given to new IGR’s or if you want refresher.

Jackie – agenda topics coming up; will contact comm chairs – will bring those topics; GS conference will vote on; will send out topics list – collect group conscience in March.

8:24 Targeted Message

Central Office Schedule: Tues – Sat 10am to 6pm
Buy lit thru central office website and come to pick up – curbside pickup; support central office – big order arrived, lots there.
Be a Faithful Fiver – 7 new ones in past month!
Subscribe to the Buzz!

Adjourn with the Responsibility Statement

Next Intergroup Meeting is Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022. Our monthly meeting will continue to be held online per local guidelines from the health department until further notice. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

Treasurer’s Narrative
Figures for Month and Year Ending December 31, 2021

CONTRIBUTIONS:

Group Contributions for the month were $28,274 exceeding expectations by $2,470

Group Contributions year to date were $183,571 short of expectations by <$23,615>

Individual Contributions for the month were $13,502 short of expectations by <$1,731>

Individual Contributions year to date were $106,737 exceeding expectations by $12,148

Overall, contributions were ~$11.5K below expectations for the year.
This was just 4% under plan of $302K

SURPLUS or DEFICIT:

IFAA experienced a surplus (or profit) of $17,226 for the month or $3,032 better than expected.

Year to date surplus (total revenue minus total expenses) was an unadjusted $9,071 [1] or $29,071 in excess of budgeted deficit of <$20K>.

Overall, IFAA made surplus of $571 for the year net of all adjustments [1]
While contributions were lower than expected for the year, reductions in Employee Expenses, Committee Expenses, Operational Expenses, and Outside Services related to database and website management technologies more than outweighed the difference.

TREASURY MATTERS:

Unrestricted Cash (in addition to 6 Mo. Prudent Reserve) was an adjusted $63,521 or 2.5 months [2] of expenditures.

Adjustments for Fiscal Year Close (or FYC) were factored into both cash and monthly expenses for unrestricted cash calculation. 12 month average expenses were used.

FOOTNOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR CLOSE:

[1] Year to date Net Revenue per Income Statement = $9,071 less <$8,500> of invoices paid in 2022 for services in 2021 = $571

[2] Funds were consolidated to Wells Fargo after Capital One elimination of money market business account and Executive Director transfer.

Reduce $170,339 PR balance by $10,468 to = $159,931 (approved prudent reserve)

$53,053 + $10,468 = $63,521 [FYC expenses averaged $25K/mo for the year]

Bank transfer was made on 1/20/2022

MATERIAL VARIANCE FROM PRIOR YEAR:

Unrestricted Cash fell from $228,336 to $53,053 from prior year (-$175,283). In addition to adjustment [2] above and regular operational expense variations, the primary reason for reduction was the return of bequest money. Cleared check for $140K was identified out of Wells Fargo Checking cut on 2/17/2021 with description “Return of Large Bequest – SDC Trust”

OVERALL RATING: EXCELLENT (meeting our budget, profitable for the month)

FINANCIAL RATING SYSTEM

EXCELLENT: We exceeded our budget. Our income was greater than our expenses for both the month and YTD and we have more than two months’ worth of operating expenses in unrestricted cash balances.

GOOD: We are meeting our budget. Our net income for the month, or for the YTD, was slightly greater than our expenses and we’d have approximately 1.5 – 2 months of operating expenses in unrestricted cash balances.

FAIR: We are not meeting our budget. Our expenses were greater than our income for the month and year to date, so our unrestricted cash balance would be somewhere between 1 and 1.5x our operating expenses.

POOR: We are not meeting our budget and our unrestricted cash balances fell below one month of operating expenses.

13 01, 2022

Intergroup News | January 2022

Intergroup Meeting – Proposed Minutes
Wednesday, January 5th, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

7:00 Getting Started

Open with the Serenity Prayer
Call to order. Statement of Purpose
Review the minutes and agenda
Roll Call
1. 55 groups represented: 35 from San Francisco, 20 from Marin

New IGRs, Visitors, AA Anniversaries
1. New IGRs: Charlie G – Serendipity in the Garden; Lexi M – Bernal New Day; Giselle – Keep it Simple Sister; Flip – High Noon Thurs; Danny – PAX; Kate P – Leaky Cauldron; Karen W
2. Visitors: Jackie B district chair for SFGS
3. Anniversaries: Isae – 29 yrs, Claudia – 20 yrs, Alex B – 18 yrs, Lexi M – 2 yrs, Charlie – 3 yrs, Rob – 18 yrs! HBD everyone!!!!
Approval of agenda (housekeeping item)

Motion to approve: Isae W; Second: John R

Approval of last month’s Intergroup Meeting minutes (housekeeping item)
Motion to approve: Tom H; Second: Karen G

7:05 Officer Reports

Board Chair – Charlie
1. Welcome our new Executive Director – Christina G
2. Christina: super excited to be here and is on day 3 of the job; thanks to board for guidance; thanks so much to Maury for answering all questions, as well as Marcus for keeping Central Office going 24/7; sober for 24 years, live in west marin but will come in to Central Office at least 2x week; worked in non-profits for 20 years at various environmental, cultural, healthcare non-profits; masters in org leadership; hope to be transparent with the work and in the position, how do we best serve the still suffering alcoholic; thank you! Email [email protected]
3. Update on new website integration
  1. New website is live! Thank you to everyone involved. May be some glitches to work out still, give a bit of time to fix these first (a week or so) and then please email [email protected] for any glaring bugs you come across
  2. Major thanks to the Tech Committee for helping with this integration
  3. Aware of calendar issue already (update: later on during the meeting, Drew advised the calendar issue had been fixed)
4. Volunteer for new Recording Secretary – email went out with a description, this is a 1 year term, position includes recording minutes editing, sent out monthly
  1. Flip C volunteered for Recording Secretary position, will follow up
5. Buzz Editor position also open
  1. Michelle W interested in Buzz position, will follow up
Treasurer – Jim B
1. Group Contributions: $14,841 > $2643 over budget for Nov; $155,297 > $26,085 under budget YTD
2. Individual Contributions: $14,791 > $7336 over budget for Nov; $93,235 > $13,879 over budget YTD
3. Overall surplus / deficit: $3556 surplus > $10,670 over budget expected for Nov; $7720 deficit > $13,879 over budget YTD
4. Unrestricted Cash: $34,622 equal to approx 1.6x monthly operating expenses
5. Financial rating for Nov 2021 is “Good”
6. Faithful Fivers: 9 additional members in Nov (up to 289), total and avg contributions are up. Go to aasfmarin.org to become a faithful fiver! Small contributions matter!
7. John R – is the budget for 2022 worked on yet? Taking into account projections based on shelter in place?
  1. Jim: yes it is currently being worked on, waiting for Dec #s but will have preliminary for next month; yes interesting to think about projections based on what has happened during the pandemic, 2021 numbers will at the very least provide a starting point
8. Kathleen – balance sheet, last number right hand side 190,121 in red ink, that represents a drop in unrestricted cash?
  1. Jim: I will look into it and get back to you personally on that – I don’t have the print out on me currently and don’t want to misspeak!
  2. Alan: 140k of that was the bequest being returned
9. Tom – part of the reason we did well is because of Gratitude Month? Bequests from last month reflected?
  1. Jim: from a contribution standpoint yes, but also expenses across the board were lower; and yes, the bequests are listed under individual contributions

7:30 Intergroup Committee Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

Tech Committee – Alex B
1. Chair position is open! Moving out of state at the end of the month, thanks to all
2. Mtg is on the 1st Monday of every month at 6p on Zoom (except this month is on 1/10)
3. Keep updating your meetings online! Ad hoc scheduler is still in progress
4. Email [email protected] for questions
The Point – John B
1. The January issue is posted online @ aasfmarin.org
2. Word documents, audio files, artwork all accepted
3. Ideas for February – 2nd step, tradition, concept, anything AA-related email to [email protected]
4. Business meeting on 2nd saturday of month via zoom at noon – next one is this Saturday 1/8
5. Sound engineer has been found! Thank you
Sunshine Club – Kate K
1. No in person meetings at this time due to COVID, volunteers still making phone calls to isolated AA members
2. Email [email protected] for info, to request a meeting, or to volunteer
3. IGRs can make announcements at meetings that Sunshine Club exists as a service available to home-bound members!
Ad-Hoc Inventory Committee – Chip G
1. IG inventory 2/5/22 a meeting place has been rented, facility has equipment for a hybrid meeting – subject to change if conditions warrant – potential to move to online
2. 1/19/22 online meeting on zoom
3. Inventory questions sent out to IGRs, just so you can think about them – considering the very IG specific content, group conscience at your individual meetings is not quite necessary but of course you are still welcome to do so
Archives Committee – Mike
1. Meets 3rd Sunday of the month in person. Hybrid zoom meeting is open at 12pm
2. Service positions available! Collect group histories, member stories, catalog, organize, create and recreate visual displays
Public Relations – Peter M
1. Planning Diversity/Inclusion Town Hall for later Spring 2022 hopefully (discussions with Fellowship Committee)
2. Calling Card produced and is being distributed at meetings
3. Committee still needs support with outreach to local media outlets
4. Pamphlet for those with housing challenges in recovery in distribution soon
5. Email [email protected] for info and to get involved!
6. Next mtg 1/10 @ 7pm (orientation at 630)
Chris F: question for sobriety requirements for these volunteer positions? Possible to add to slides?

7:45 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

SF General Service – Alison T
1. PRAASA, Agenda Topics, General Service Conference
2. General Service website has a calendar and a glossary check it out sfgeneralservice.org/calendar
3. Ask for new GSRs to go check out the website!
4. Plain language big book, graphic novel, changes to Living Sober
5. Grapevine and La Vina service rep positions are available
Marin Teleservice – Jill
1. 1/25 all service positions are turning over
2. Please announce that Marin Teleservice is looking for new faces to fill commitments – 6 months sobriety requirement
SF Bridging the Gap – Phil S
1. Connects alcoholics leaving institutions to get them to meetings on the outside
2. New Pamphlet and new service manual and we have a new co chair! We are looking to increase engagement with the fellowship
General Service – Molly M
1. GSR Workshop – demystifying general service
  1. Sunday 1/23 12-130p anyone with a desire to learn about General Service is welcomed tho directed to Marin GSRs
2. Agenda Topics Season is here!
  1. List of topics to be discussed and groups marin and sf are looking for group consciences and report that to delegate

7:55 Old Business

7:56 New Business

Potential for 2022 events?
1. Alan: thinking about getting involved with events – 75th anniversary of Central Office like Peter mentioned; other ideas: people who got sober on Zoom and have never been to a in-person meeting
2. Get in contact with Fellowship Committee with any ideas you have
3. Nikki: Town Halls sharing best practices – are there ways virtually that we can bring the fellowship together as we navigate things which keep changing, workshops, etc.
4. Michelle: Tools game, get into teams of 4 and use the tools (make a call, go to a meeting)
5. Tanya (in the chat): a talent show we just did for the daily women’s meeting!
6. Melissa: talking about how COVID has affected sobriety, the loneliness – many people are interested and concerned about all this a hot topic for anybody who is a writer who would want to collect stories focused on topics impact of COVID, good and bad
7. Jackie: not IGR but visiting and have ideas based on what we do in General Service- how about a trusted servant workshop? That could work well on zoom; business meeting workshop? Etc.
8. Molly: not an IGR but I’m in General Service, thinking about getting back to in person and what it used to look like – in terms of Zoom just trying to embrace what works even though it’s different from what we’re used to; perspective shifts
9. Nikki: [email protected] reach out about these ideas and more!
Scott B: service commitments table to encourage people to get involved – other service committees that are available outside the meeting

8:25 What’s On Your Mind

Molly: difference b/w the Buzz and Point?
1. Nikki: Buzz is weekly newsletter about upcoming events, service opportunities for the fellowship in SF/Marin
2. John: Point historically used to also have that information before our transition online, Point continues to house the experience, strength, and hope of members via publishing stories, essays, etc. – hyper local version of the grapevine
Jackie: AA History Symposium – scholarships for newcomers or anyone who is not able to afford ticket
Isae: new beginnings, very excited to welcome Christina, new website, really excited about the inventory work we are going to be doing in Feb; what’s working and where we can improve, encourage all to check out the inventory questions
Danny: working with others, step work, how do we bring the message to the newcomer and engage the steps, contextualize them and emphasize the book; any cool new ideas about working with newcomers?
Alex B: era of zoom, the concept of a 12th step call on zoom is very interesting
Flip: there’s 12th step workshops on zoom that i’ve been to they’ve been pretty popular
Nikki: I see no more hands up, do we have any objections to ending the meeting early? (No objections – consensus to end the meeting early)

8:24 Targeted Message

Spread the word about Sunshine Club
Buy literature through Central Office
Become a Faithful Fiver
Subscribe to the Buzz!

Adjourn with the Responsibility Statement

Next Intergroup Meeting is Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022. Our monthly meeting will continue to be held online per local guidelines from the health department until further notice. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

January 2022 Intergroup Meeting Treasurer’s Narrative

Figures for Month Ending November 30, 2021

CONTRIBUTIONS:

Group Contributions for the month were $14,841 which was over budget (or “better than expected”) by $2,643.

Group Contributions year to date were $155,297 which were $26,085 under budget (“worse than expected”)

Individual Contributions for the month were $14,791 which were over budget (or “better than expected”) by $7,336.

Individual Contributions year to date were $93,235 which were $13,879 over budget (or better than expected)

Individual contributions are no longer making up for the unexpected reduction in group contributions

SURPLUS or DEFICIT:

IFAA experienced a surplus (or profit) of $3,556 for the month. We budgeted (or anticipated) a loss of <$7,114> so we operated $10,670 better than expected.

Year to date our deficit (total revenue minus total expenses) was <$7,720>. While this may seem poor, we were expecting and had budgeted a total loss by this time of year of <$34K> so our year to date November deficit was $26,474 better than expected.

TREASURY MATTERS:

Unrestricted Cash (in addition to 6 Mo. Prudent Reserve) was $34,622 or 1.6 months of expenditures.

Quarterly bill for outside services was paid in November, as well as 3 payroll periods causing sharper than expected reduction in unrestricted cash.

OVERALL RATING: Good (meeting our budget, profitable for the month)

FINANCIAL RATING SYSTEM

EXCELLENT: We exceeded our budget. Our income was greater than our expenses for the month and we have more than two months’ worth of operating expenses in unrestricted cash balances.

POOR: We are not meeting our budget and our unrestricted cash balances fell below one month of operating expenses.

September 2022 Intergroup Meeting Treasurer’s Narrative Year to Date Ended July 31, 2022

Intergroup Meeting – Proposed Minutes Wednesday, October 5, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

July 2022 Intergroup Meeting Treasurer’s Narrative

Year to Date Ended May 31, 2022

COMMENTARY

CONTRIBUTION REVENUES:

EXPENSES:

NET REVENUE: AKA “THE BOTTOM LINE”

LIQUIDITY RESERVE

Intergroup Meeting Proposed Minutes Wednesday, June 1, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

7:00 Getting Started

7:10 Officer Reports

7:27 Intergroup Committee Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

7:45 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

7:55 Old Business

8:09 New Business

8:25 What’s On Your Mind

1. N/A

8:26 Targeted Message

Treasurer’s Report

7:00 Getting Started

7:05 Officer Reports

7:30 Intergroup Committee Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

7:45 Service Committee Liaison Reports (up to 2 minutes/report)

7:55 Old Business

7:56 New Business

8:25 What’s On Your Mind

8:24 Targeted Message

January 2022 Intergroup Meeting Treasurer’s Narrative

FINANCIAL RATING SYSTEM

September 2022 Intergroup Meeting Treasurer’s Narrative
Year to Date Ended
July 31, 2022

Intergroup Meeting – Proposed Minutes
Wednesday, October 5, 2022, 7-8:30 PM

July 2022 Intergroup Meeting
Treasurer’s Narrative

Year to Date Ended
May 31, 2022

Intergroup Meeting Proposed Minutes
Wednesday, June 1, 2022, 7-8:30 PM