{"id":26255,"date":"2026-01-02T19:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T00:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/?p=26255"},"modified":"2026-01-02T19:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T00:05:15","slug":"gratitude-month-nov-2025-letter-from-gso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/announcement-updates\/gratitude-month-nov-2025-letter-from-gso\/","title":{"rendered":"GRATITUDE MONTH NOV 2025 &#8211; Letter from GSO"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>To: GSRs, DCMs, Trustees, Non-trustee Directors, Area Officers and Committee<br>Chairs, Delegates, Appointed Committee Members, Intergroups and Central Offices,<br>Group Contacts, GSO and Grapevine Employees<\/em><br><br>November 26, 2025<br><br>Dear A.A. Friends:<br><br>Warm greetings from the General Service Office (GSO). As we continue to observe this<br>season of gratitude, we A.A.s reflect on the many gifts and blessings sobriety has given<br>us. The program of Alcoholics Anonymous encompasses many facets: our home<br>groups, sponsorship, the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, fellowship, service on<br>many levels, and much more.<br><br>Last month, I shared with you an overview of many of the services that GSO provides.<br>As the General Manager, I\u2019m grateful to see firsthand how these services support the<br>many facets of the A.A. program, especially our primary purpose \u2013 carrying the<br>message of sobriety to the alcoholic who still suffers. I hope you can take a moment to<br>review the following service materials that I shared with you last month, which highlight<br>the vital work your contributions help to support: SERVICES PROVIDED BY<br>GSO\/AAWS and Seventh Tradition Fact Sheet.<br><br>In my November 2023 message to the Fellowship, I shared in great detail the<br>challenges related to the financial health of Alcoholics Anonymous and the challenges<br>ahead. Many of you responded with heartfelt messages of gratitude along with very<br>generous contributions that lifted GSO out of those financial difficulties. I emphasized in<br>that message the ongoing need for more frequent and incremental contributions to<br>sustain the operations of the office. You heard that message, and in 2024, contributions<br>were the highest on record, enabling us to continue providing the numerous services<br>that sustain our beloved program.<br><br>Unfortunately, we are once again faced with a substantial decline in contributions this<br>year, putting the vital services our Fellowship depends on at risk. To help clarify our<br>current position, I offer the following key financial results through September 30, 2025.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Total contributions are about $1,018,000 less than the same period last year and<br>$843,000 less than budget.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Net income from literature sales is about $104,000 more than the same period<br>last year and $226,000 more than budget.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Combined income from contributions and literature sales was about $914,000<br>less than the same period last year and $617,000 less than budget.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Operating expenses before depreciation were $233,500 more than last year and<br>$394,000 less than budget.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Operating surplus before depreciation was $124,971 compared to $1,176,000 in<br>the same period last year and $440,000 less than budget.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Reserve Fund currently covers 6.2 months of GSO and Grapevine<br>expenses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><br>As you can see, GSO, along with the AAWS and General Service Boards (GSB), have<br>continued to work hard to manage our expenses through sound budget planning. This<br>includes a reforecast following the annual General Service Conference to account for<br>new services requested by the Conference to ensure we keep within our budgeted<br>expenses. In fact, when applying adjustments for inflation to our operating expenses<br>over the last 10 years, our projected expenses this year are lower than 8 of the last 10<br>years (the other 2 years were during the pandemic). A continued challenge is that our<br>net income from the sale of literature is down considerably. Average literature income<br>during 2015-2019 was a little more than $9M per year compared to $6.7M in 2023,<br>$7.6M in 2024 and $8.3M projected for 2025. That\u2019s an average drop of $1.5M annually.<br>This is a result of both a reduction in gross sales as well as an increase in the cost of<br>production and distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>As members, we often say that when A.A. needs money, the Fellowship will respond.<br>This is again one of those times. Your generosity has sustained us through very difficult<br>times in the past. If your group is able, in the spirit of this season of gratitude, please<br>consider a special contribution to the General Service Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>You can make a contribution through the Contributions page on aa.org or by mail. <br>When contributing by check, please make your check payable to the <strong>General Service Board<\/strong> <br>and use the applicable mailing address:<br><br><strong>Checks in Canadian Dollars <\/strong><br>General Service Office<br>Post Office Box 459<br>Grand Central Station<br>New York, NY 10163<br><br><strong>Checks in U.S. Dollars<\/strong><br>General Service Office<br>Post Office Box 2407<br>James A. Farley Station<br>New York, NY 10116-2407<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Thank you so much for everything each of you do for Alcoholics Anonymous. It is my<br>hope this message will be met with understanding, and that the honesty and sincerity in<br>my heart are apparent throughout.<br><br>With gratitude for all the sacrifices you make for A.A.,<br><br>Bob W.<br>General Manager, GSO<br><br>To read\/download the original letter please click this <a href=\"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Gratitude_Month_November_2025.pdf\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Gratitude_Month_November_2025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">link<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To: GSRs, DCMs, Trustees, Non-trustee Directors, Area Officers and CommitteeChairs, Delegates, Appointed Committee Members, Intergroups and Central Offices,Group Contacts, GSO and Grapevine Employees November 26, 2025 Dear A.A. Friends: Warm greetings from the General Service Office (GSO). As we continue to observe thisseason of gratitude, we A.A.s reflect on the many gifts and blessings sobriety has givenus. The program of Alcoholics Anonymous encompasses many facets: our homegroups, sponsorship, the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, fellowship, service onmany levels, and much more. Last month, I shared with you an overview of many of the services that GSO provides.As the General Manager, I\u2019m grateful to see firsthand how these services support themany facets of the A.A. program, especially our primary purpose \u2013 carrying themessage of sobriety to the alcoholic who still suffers. I hope you can take a moment toreview the following service materials that I shared with you last month, which highlightthe vital work your contributions help to support: SERVICES PROVIDED BYGSO\/AAWS and Seventh Tradition Fact Sheet. In my November 2023 message to the Fellowship, I shared in great detail thechallenges related to the financial health of Alcoholics Anonymous and the challengesahead. Many of you responded with heartfelt messages of gratitude along with verygenerous contributions that lifted GSO out of those financial difficulties. I emphasized inthat message the ongoing need for more frequent and incremental contributions tosustain the operations of the office. You heard that message, and in 2024, contributionswere the highest on record, enabling us to continue providing the numerous servicesthat sustain our beloved program. Unfortunately, we are once again faced with a substantial decline in contributions thisyear, putting the vital services our Fellowship depends on at risk. To help clarify ourcurrent position, I offer the following key financial results through September 30, 2025. As you can see, GSO, along with the AAWS and General Service Boards (GSB), havecontinued to work hard to manage our expenses through sound budget planning. Thisincludes a reforecast following the annual General Service Conference to account fornew services requested by the Conference to ensure we keep within our budgetedexpenses. In fact, when applying adjustments for inflation to our operating expensesover the last 10 years, our projected expenses this year are lower than 8 of the last 10years (the other 2 years were during the pandemic). A continued challenge is that ournet income from the sale of literature is down considerably. Average literature incomeduring 2015-2019 was a little more than $9M per year compared to $6.7M in 2023,$7.6M in 2024 and $8.3M projected for 2025. That\u2019s an average drop of $1.5M annually.This is a result of both a reduction in gross sales as well as an increase in the cost ofproduction and distribution. As members, we often say that when A.A. needs money, the Fellowship will respond.This is again one of those times. Your generosity has sustained us through very difficulttimes in the past. If your group is able, in the spirit of this season of gratitude, pleaseconsider a special contribution to the General Service Board. You can make a contribution through the Contributions page on aa.org or by mail. When contributing by check, please make your check payable to the General Service Board and use the applicable mailing address: Checks in Canadian Dollars General Service OfficePost Office Box 459Grand Central StationNew York, NY 10163 Checks in U.S. DollarsGeneral Service OfficePost Office Box 2407James A. Farley StationNew York, NY 10116-2407 Thank you so much for everything each of you do for Alcoholics Anonymous. It is myhope this message will be met with understanding, and that the honesty and sincerity inmy heart are apparent throughout. With gratitude for all the sacrifices you make for A.A., Bob W.General Manager, GSO To read\/download the original letter please click this link.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,112],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcement-updates","category-general-service-office"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"trp-custom-language-flag":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"SteveP","author_link":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/author\/stevep\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"To: GSRs, DCMs, Trustees, Non-trustee Directors, Area Officers and CommitteeChairs, Delegates, Appointed Committee Members, Intergroups and Central Offices,Group Contacts, GSO and Grapevine Employees November 26, 2025 Dear A.A. Friends: Warm greetings from the General Service Office (GSO). As we continue to observe thisseason of gratitude, we A.A.s reflect on the many gifts and blessings sobriety&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26255"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26256,"href":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26255\/revisions\/26256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingberksintergroup.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}