How Our Groups Contribute Financially

The Eleventh Concept states: “NA funds are to be used to fulfill our primary purpose, and must be managed responsibly.”

Ideally, after paying for their expenses, groups send money directly to each level of service to help pay for the work done on their behalf. This example is one of many possible models groups can use.

Some groups also set aside a small operating reserve (sometimes called a “prudent re- serve”), often a month's rent or expenses. The Group Booklet cautions us that “too much money in the till causes far more trouble than too little money.”

For more information on managing the group's funds, consult some of the following resources, which are available online or through your usual NA literature source: The Group Booklet, Treasurer's Handbook, Group Treasurer's Workbook, A Guide to Local Services in NA.

Our Seventh Tradition of self- support isn’t only about money, but this pam- phlet is. Members with further interest in the topic of self-support are encouraged to read IP #24, Money Matters: Self-Support in NA, the Seventh Tradition essay in It Works: How and Why, and the Eleventh Concept essay from Twelve Concepts for NA Service.

To help members understand the importance of individual contributions, groups may want to add a statement like this one to their meeting format to be read before passing the basket:

Our Seventh Tradition states:
“Every NA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.”
In Narcotics Anonymous, we pay our own way to maintain our freedom. By giving freely, we ensure that we have meetings to attend, and we support the services that keep NA alive and growing all around the world.
We encourage members to keep in mind that our financial contributions to NA are one of the fundamental ways we can demonstrate our gratitude for the program that showed us a new way to live.