Why contribute?

Supporting our services through contributions has been a challenge for us for a long time. Many of us don’t like to talk about money—it somehow feels unspiritual to do so; and yet, the money we contribute is just as valuable as resources like trusted servants or effective presentation formats. We all seem to understand the need to keep our groups self-supporting, and yet we seem to forget that it is the money we contribute to our areas, regions, and world services that also helps carry NA’s message. We all have the responsibility to fund the services that are provided on our behalf, and yet we still seem reluctant to contribute in a meaningful way. This is the first of a series of articles that will begin a conversation about contributions and self-support in Narcotics Anonymous.

We are often asked what it would take for our services to be completely funded by contributions. In trying to answer this question, we’ve developed the following chart that breaks down dollars contributed by groups worldwide and in the USA and Canada. This data shows approximately how much each individual group or meeting would need to contribute in order to fully fund the services provided directly to the fellowship by NAWS each year.

In other words, meetings/groups currently contribute just over 18% of the total cost of services provided by NAWS. Every meeting/group in every country around the world would have to contribute a little more than US $93 each year to cover the cost of services provided by NA World Services.

Although we receive contributions from all over the world, the largest portion of member contributions comes from the USA and Canada. As a result, we generated the same data looking only at how much each individual group or meeting in the USA and Canada would need to contribute in order to fully fund the services provided directly to the fellowship by NAWS each year.

In other words, dollars donated by US and Canadian meetings/groups currently covers about US $28 (18.6%) of the nearly US $150 dollars needed to cover the cost of services provided by NAWS. Every meeting/group in the USA and Canada would have to contribute nearly US $150 each year to cover the cost of services provided by NA World Services.

In the past several years, we as a fellowship have moved closer to realizing our vision of a world in which “every addict in the world has a chance to experience our message in his or her own language and culture and find the opportunity for a new way of life.” NAWS has increased its efforts to foster fellowship-wide discussions about issues that affect NA groups. We have led workshops and training sessions all over the world, increased translations efforts, and attended a historically high number of professional and fellowship events. We have increased our cooperative efforts to have neighboring regions, language groups, and zones help local communities with fellowship development and PR efforts, and we are constantly looking for ways to evaluate both our efforts and our costs.

NA World Services does a lot on behalf of the fellowship we all love and serve, and we believe our efforts have made our message move available to more addicts around the world than ever before. We are always left with a steadily increasing demand for services, while the funds available to cover the costs of those services are not increasing to match. This increased demand is a logical and expected result of our successful efforts to make our message more available. This is not bad news. It means that addicts around the world are finding recovery in NA and that we are fulfilling the underlying spirit of our Twelfth Step “to carry the message to the addict who still suffers.” The point of this article is to provide some way for all of us to better understand the role our contributions can play in helping us better reach the still-suffering addict.

We hope to continue to demonstrate the relationship between members and groups, the service structure of NA, and the delivery of NA’s message to those who need it. One way we’re trying to make this connection is through articles like this one, discussions at workshops, and the Issue Discussion Topics. But making this connection is only part of the solution. All of us still have the essential role of demonstrating our support for the service efforts we have asked for, either directly or indirectly, through funding those services.

Many of us are aware of the ways in which our time and energy make it possible to carry NA’s message to others. The money we contribute is just as valuable to making NA’s message of hope and recovery available to more and more addicts. Our Twelfth Step teaches us that the more we help others, the more we help ourselves—and the generous act of contributing money to ensure our success at helping other addicts is no different.

Being a member of Narcotics Anonymous means more than just saying that we are members. Being a member means taking responsibility for supporting the services that continue to carry NA’s message to other addicts in our home groups and around the world.

Our best thinking… I’ve heard it said that going into our own heads is like going behind enemy lines. You’re only lost in thought because it’s unfamiliar territory. Don’t let your mind wander; it’s too small to be out on its own. Your head’s a bad neighborhood. Don’t go there on your own. Why is an addict alone in bad company? Because he is with the last person he used with. Sponsor to a sponsee who is at home alone, thinking about things: “Get out as quickly as possible. You’re in the house with a killer!” Regarding thoughts versus obsession: I can’t help it if a bird poops on my head, but I don’t have to let it build a nest there.

A man in a hot-air balloon realized he was lost, so he descended a bit and shouted to a man on the ground, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.” The man on the ground replied, “You’re in a hot-air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.” “You must be a sponsor,” shouted the balloonist. “I am,” replied the man. “How did you know?” “Well,” answered the balloonist, “I believe everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve probably delayed my trip.” The man below responded, “You must be a sponsee.” “I am,” replied the balloonist, “but how did you know?” “Well,” said the man on the ground, “you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect other people to solve your problems for you. And, you are in exactly the same position you were before we met—but now, somehow, it’s my fault!” Author unknown

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