The Twelve Concepts for World Service of S.L.A.A.*

Ultimate responsibility and authority for S.L.A.A. world services always reside in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship.
The Annual Business Conference, by delegation, is the voice and conscience for our world services and of S.L.A.A. as a whole.
To insure effective leadership, each element of S.L.A.A. – the Conference, the Board of Trustees, staff, and committees – all possess the “Right of Decision.”
The “Right of Participation” is maintained by allowing members the opportunity to cast one vote up to the level at which they are trusted servants.
The “Right of Appeal” prevails so that minority opinion is heard and personal grievances receive careful consideration.
The Conference recognizes that the chief initiative and active responsibility in most world service matters should be exercised by the trustee members of the Conference acting as the Board of Trustees.
The Articles of Incorporation and the By-Laws of the Fellowship are legal instruments, empowering the trustees to manage and conduct world service affairs. Although the Conference Charter is a legal document; it also relies on tradition and the power of the S.L.A.A. purse for final effectiveness.
The trustees are the principal planners and administrators of overall policy and finance. They have custodial oversight of the separately incorporated and constantly active services, including their ability to hire staff.
Good service leaders, together with sound and appropriate methods of choosing them, are at all levels indispensable for our future functioning and safety. The primary world service leadership must be assumed by the Board of Trustees.
Every service responsibility is matched by equal service authority – the scope of this authority is always well defined whether by tradition, by resolution, by specific job description or by appropriate charters and by-laws.
The trustees need the best possible committees, staff, and consultants. Composition, qualifications, induction procedures, systems of rotation, and rights and duties are always matters of serious concern.
The Conference observes the spirit of S.L.A.A. Tradition,
a. taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power;
b. that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle;
c. that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority over others;
d. that it reach all important decisions by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity;
e. that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy;
f. that it never perform acts of government, and that, like the Fellowship it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and action.

*©2012 The Augustine Fellowship, S.L.A.A., Fellowship-Wide Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Twelve Concepts of Alcoholics Anonymous are
adapted with the permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (“AAWS”). Permission to adapt the Twelve Concepts does not mean that Alcoholics Anonymous is affiliated with this program. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism only – use of A.A.’s Concepts or an adapted version in connection with programs and activities which are patterned after A.A., but which address other problems, or use in any other non-A.A. context, does not
imply otherwise.

A.A. TWELVE CONCEPTS (SHORT FORM)

Final responsibility and ultimate authority for A.A. world services should always reside in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship. 2. The General Service conference of A.A. has become, for nearly every practical purpose, the active voice and the effective conscience of our whole Society in its world affairs. 3. To insure effective leadership, we should endow each element of A.A.-the Conference, the General Service Board its service corporations, staffs, committees, and executives-with a traditional “Right of Decision.” 4. At all responsible levels, we ought to maintain a traditional “Right of Participation,” allowing a voting representation in reasonable proportion to the responsibility that each must discharge. 5. Throughout our structure, a traditional “Right of Appeal” ought to prevail, so that minority opinion will be heard and personal grievances receive careful consideration. The Conference recognizes that the chief initiative and active responsibility in most world service matters should be exercised by the trustee members of the Conference acting as the General Service Board. 7. The Charter and Bylaws of the General Service Board are legal instruments, empowering the trustees to manage and conduct world service affairs. The Conference Charter is not a legal document; it relies upon tradition and the A.A. purse for final effectiveness. 8. The trustees are the principal planners and administrators of overall policy and finance. They have custodial oversight of the separately incorporated and constantly active services, exercising this through their ability to elect all the directors of these entities. 9. Good service leadership at all levels is indispensable for our future functioning and safety. Primary world service leadership, once exercised by the founders, must necessarily be assumed by the trustees. 10. Every service responsibility should be matched by an equal service authority, with the scope of such authority well defined. 11. The trustees should always have the best possible committees, corporate service directors, executives, staffs, and consultants. Composition, qualifications, induction procedures, and rights and duties will always be matters of serious concern. 12. The Conference shall observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority over others; that it reach all important decisions by discussion, vote, and whenever possible, by substantial unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; that it never perform acts of government, and that, like the society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and action.

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