Self-Support Means Supporting NA 
Additional preparations/materials:  Copies of IP #24, Money Matters: Self-Support in NA, and IP #28, Funding NA Services, for all participants. Post-it Sheets, Markers, Brainstorming/Ground Rules, and Facilitators Guides
Self Support Setup	10 minutes
 [Slide 1] Purpose of Session: To engage members in a discussion about self-support, the benefits of fund flow, and its effect on our primary purpose. Also to introduce new self-support IPs.
Why self-support is important
The stability of our fellowship and our ability to provide services are best protected when we rely on individual members’ contributions of money and time.
•	Self support is caring and supporting each other – in group service we pay the rent, literature, coffee.  Honoring the underlying principle of the Fifth Tradition is our purpose when contributing towards the welfare of group services
•	Self-support is supporting each other in ALL our service efforts.  H&I, PI, Phoneline, and Meeting Schedules ALL need funds to flow from the groups to the service committees
•	Successful funding of services has positive aspects - community building, communal responsibility, and the ability to fulfill goals together
Some of the key principles of self-support
The essay in It Works How and Why lists and explains a number of spiritual principles associated with the Seventh Tradition. [Slide 2] Some of the other key principles of self-support are:
•	Accountability – service bodies are accountable to the groups that fund them and individual trusted servants are accountable to the service bodies they are members of
•	Responsibility – groups and members are responsible to fund the services that are provided on their behalf, as well as providing ideas and spiritual guidance. We used to talk about “donations,” but that seems to imply something external to us. Now we use the language “contributions” to indicate our membership and responsibility—ownership. 
•	Trust – there must be trust between groups and the service system to ensure the flow of resources and ideas in both directions
Large Group Brainstorm 	10 minutes
[Slide 3] Ask the large group these questions:
•	What would happen if members stopped contributing in our groups? 
•	How much more could we accomplish, reaching the addict who still suffers, if each member put in a little extra?
•	What happens if we stop paying for other things we value – e.g. phones or rent?
Small Group Discussion 	30 minutes
Introduce the new self-support IPs. 
At the last World Service Conference, two new pamphlets on self-support were approved. The pamphlets are designed with different audiences and purposes in mind:
•	[Slide 4]  IP #28 provides a graphic representation of an important aspect of our Seventh Tradition: how we fund the services that help us fulfill our primary purpose. [The questions we just discussed as a large group are the sorts of questions IP #28 hopes to encourage members and groups to think about.]
•	[Slide 5] IP #24 aims to raise awareness and understanding of each member’s personal role in supporting NA services, including how this enriches our recovery.
Today we are focusing on the questions in IP #24. [Slide 6] Project slide with the questions on page 7 of Money Matters on screen.
•	How much did we put in the basket in our first thirty days clean? First year? Now?
•	How have our financial circumstances changed since we got clean?
•	Does the way we spend our money reflect what is valuable to us?
•	Do our NA groups have the money they need to operate smoothly? Can our group contribute to other levels of service?
•	What more could be done to further our primary purpose at each level of service, if we had the money?
•	What more can we be doing to help others, the way we were helped by NA? 
Small group set-up 
Inform the group that we are moving to small groups. We want to gather their ideas on supporting each other (self-support) by discussing the questions. 
Divide the questions up between the groups. Each group gets two questions. Take a moment to review the small group discussion process again, emphasizing that they need to share the time.
Remind them of the key spiritual principles related to self-support: accountability, responsibility, and trust.
Ask them to list their questions and record their ideas underneath on Post-it sheets, and then prioritize them for possible solutions.  
Large Group Discussion	20 minutes 
Ask each small group in turn to offer their top idea for the questions assigned to them, ensuring each group has the chance to present at least one of their ideas.
•	Solicit any other thoughts or ideas on the ideas as they are presented, and any experience with application of ideas (from whole room)
•	Ensure the group’s post-it sheets are put up on the wall
Conclusion/Wrap-Up 	 5 minutes
Recap the session, using the post-it sheets to review some of the key ideas
[Slide 7] The back of IP #24 gives some ideas about how to contribute to NA—to give back. Encourage attendees to review the two new Self-Support IPs after the session. Explain that different communities/areas/groups are at different points in the process of becoming self-supporting, and that the process is about progress and not perfection.
[Slide 8] Our contributions help not only our group and area but they can help around the world.