Board members present: Susan R (Chair), Jan BB (Vice Chair), Joe M (Treasurer), Mark M (Tech Chair), Mary M (Trustee at Large), Carlos D (International Trustee) 6 voting members

Board members absent: Leslieee A (Secretary) Death in the family.

Visitors: Beth D (Chair, PAC), Cam (IGR Steppers Subpack Alt Chair), Leila (CPC Chair), Naterena (CPC Secretary), Manny B (IGR AA Home Group), Sharon G (Alternate IGR for into Action)

Quorum was met (3 of 6 Chair does not vote per 25/1/12 Minutes) Y/N  

The meeting was opened with a moment of silence and the Serenity Prayer “we” form.

Introductions: Introductions of the Officers and Guests.

The chair set aside the approval of the March Minutes. 

Officer Reports

Chair- At our March 21st assembly, we passed several significant motions. We passed the International Convention Budget, the Unity unbudgeted Funds requests and disbursements to TIAA, and Code for Recovery. At that assembly, we had difficulty with our interpretive services, and as a result, I received several concerns by email, and I gathered together two people, the Unity Committee Chair, who is the person who procures our interpreters. And I tried to include Lesliee. Because she was the past communication chair. And in the communication charter, it’s the task for interpreter procurement. And we just got together to explore the issues and solutions. Lesliee was unable to attend, but I did send her the summary of what we discussed. Jen believes that it was human error that caused the issue with the March Assembly. The interpreter she hired forgot. And she had to contact the backup on the spot, who only had his phone to connect. As requested in the email conversations after the event, I contacted the U.S/Canada. General Service Office to gather information on their interpretation methods, which I shared with the Board in Unity. At the General Service Conference, they use in-person interpreters with headsets. And only 3 languages are spoken at the conference, with approximately 135 in attendance. At the Vancouver International Convention, with approximately 35,000 in attendance, they used Wordly for the, speaker meetings, but only certain speaker meetings. I sent the board the result of that that they sent me from the General Service Office. Jen discussed our evaluation of Wordly and Interpify, noting that both are designed for business professionals with technology and equipment to use effectively. Cost is also a consideration. Across the organization, we have budgeted for Unity using Upwork independent contractor model. 

Using non-A-A interpreters working with their own equipment and internet limitations at approximately $48 per hour. We are using basket funds to support the education and development of the independent Upwork interpreters as we continue to experiment with this approach. The communications model has utilized contractors. with AA experience and technical knowledge, generally at twice the cost or more, but who come ready to interpret with knowledge of AA jargon, as well as the necessary technical skill and equipment. ASL interpretation has additional considerations for effective communication with this membership audience. At this time, we have only one working model, the Upwork Independent Contractor Approach. Communications is not yet positioned to develop a possible second-tier plan for interpretation outside of Unity, which plans to continue with the Upwork model at this time. We will continue to explore external technological solutions, as well as collaborative work between Unity and Communications. I would also note that interpretation procurement is included in the communications charter. 

Jen and I also discussed a Unity-received email from their liaison team following outreach to the ASL community to identify interpreters for events. In that outreach, a former ASL interpreter declined involvement. Citing prior experiences with the OIAA. I reviewed the background of this matter with Jen, and we discussed an appropriate response. As the outreach came through Unity, she will respond, keeping me in the loop. Jen, Lesliee, and I will continue to work together to explore how best to serve our membership, and any input is appreciated. 

PAC and the IGR steppers. I continue to be involved in the PAC listing process as time allows. In IGR Steppers, we’re reviewing the outgoing letters to IGRs, and the welcome letter from the registrar. The welcome letter contains some discrepancies regarding the responsibilities of IGRs, including links to the IGR Hot List page, which needs updating, and references to an outdated IGR video on our YouTube channel. I contacted Lesliee about updating the video. Jan has taken over handling complaints in her role as Vice Chair, and as an experienced PAC member. She will discuss this further. 

Committee engagement. I attended a Unity Convention Planning Meeting and reviewed the schedule for the November International Convention. I also attended the CPC committee meeting and observed the new chair in action. The committee approved their charter, and the board will be reviewing and approving both the CPC Charter and the chair at this meeting.

Finance. I worked with finance on the Vancouver Tax Rebate, which has been finalized and submitted. 

I have also been in communication with ad hoc guidelines regarding the Concept 5 appeal process, which may also be applicable to Open Door. As well as a possible election process for future consideration. I’m also compiling a comprehensive list of suggested 

changes. From the last time the committee met in 2023. 

I’m delighted that you’re Compiling data in each of your committees and sending it to me, and eventually we can know what to do with it. OIAA currently lists approximately 3,355 groups and 10,936 meetings in the meeting directory. Membership has grown from 658 groups in 2024 to 869 groups as of March 2026, representing an increase of approximately 209 groups, or 31.8%. Non-English groups represent approximately 9–10% of total membership that indicates approximately, 300 new meeting listings over the past year, with approximately 6% of these listings being on English. When we pass a budget, for example, there’s a process, and it comes in from the committee chairs. It goes first. To the finance committee who puts it together, and then it’s approved by approximately 7 committee members who send it on to the board, and approximately 7 board members approve it. And as of the assembly participation in March, this included 60 to 62 voting members, and approximately 100 total participants. With quorum in recent years averaging approximately 43 to 46 groups. 

Website analytics. as of March 31st, reflects 213,289 users, including 147 1,758 new users, with a total of 1,391,902 page views, and 374,104 engaged sessions. Approximately 98% of the website’s users are English speakers. Website traffic is primarily from the U.S, Canada, and the United Kingdom, although there’s about 7,000 or more, hits from China. Recently. And other additional global participation across many countries. Device users reflects 136,662 mobile users, 56,000 approximately desktop users, and tablets, and minimal smart TV usage. Steppers data. If you have not seen the Steppers dashboard, please take a look at it. Steppers data for 2025 reflects 6,558 total service requests, including 3,054 12-step requests. 1,654 join OIAA requests, and 1,435 general inquiries. 

Budget totals. 2024, $100,000. In 2025, $120,000. 2026, $137,000 for a 3-year total of $357,000. Spending on convention interpretation translation has represented approximately 32 to 43%. Of total expenses over this period, with budget allocations for these categories ranging from 42% to 48%. Disbursements in 2026 totaled $15,940, with approximately $12,752, or 80%, directed to international entities as determined. When combined with operating expenses in the categories of total resource allocation to convention, interpretation, translation, and international Disbursement represents approximately 45 to 48% of the total resources. The current interpretation model with Upwork, independent contractors. averages $48 an hour. Alternative models, including those previously utilized through communications, involves interpreters with experience and technical proficiency at approximately twice the cost. Dada, da-da, data. Thank you for listening to all that. We have a busy time ahead, including next Saturday’s combined board committee meeting and on the 2nd, the safety workshop. And in between that is Jan’s IGR Forum.

Vice Chair – Since we had our last board meeting, we’ve had, 5 members inquire to us about concern regarding meetings listed in the OIA meeting directory, these include concerns about 7th tradition transparency, alleged discriminatory conduct in a meeting, questions about post-meeting fellowship boundaries, interpersonal conflict within a group, and we had one formal request to remove a meeting from the meeting directory. In each case, we responded in keeping with AA traditions and the scope of its service role. Where appropriate, follow-up was made with the meetings involved, and there was no breach of listing guidelines that was identified and no further action was taken. By the way, if any of you on the board, when we do go to check out meetings, would like to be part of that, you’re more than welcome. All right, so, honestly, for 10,000 meetings, 5 complaints? That’s says it’s working.

I liaised before the Assembly with the Finance Committee and our wonderful Treasurer, Joe, regarding the proposed, seven tradition disbursements to TIAA and Code for Recovery. I pulled together, informal summaries of both service entities and those are put up on the website.

I’ve worked with, liaised with Tech Mark, Chair Mark, regarding the IGR steppers, with the proposed question: An answer bulletin board, or form, if you want to call it, for the OIAA website. Follow-up questions from Kerrie, our special worker, were answered, and shared experience from TIAA was passed along to assist with the planning. This initiative remains in progress with Kerrie.

Invitations were sent yesterday for the first OIAA Ad Hoc Guidelines Committee for this year. The meeting was sent to four members who volunteered to serve. If there’s anybody here on the board that would like to be on that either the first time or once again, you’re more than welcome. I’ll be happy to send you out the invite. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 22nd, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. The committee’s purpose is to review the OIAA guidelines for clarity, consistency, usefulness, and to consider whether any updates may better support OIAA’s service work while preserving the spirit and practical purpose of the guidelines.

As far as meetings that I’ve attended within OIAA, I’ve been to Finance, PAC, and the IGR Steppers, and lastly, I’ve been working with Susan, our chair, with the upcoming, IGR Forum, which is on the 25th of April, at, 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The topic is OIAA 7th Tradition, How Online Groups Do It, three speakers, all from OIAA-listed groups, current treasurers, who will share how their groups collect seven tradition contributions, how the group conscience is reached regarding funds, and how contributions are distributed within the service structure.

Joe, he’ll talk about this later, has created a sheet that, is an information sheet on how to acquire a taxpayer identification number, which would help groups, so we’ll talk about that 

later within, information page he created, and I would love it if he were at that, forum, and he could share that as well. We would do that after the speakers speak and before the question and answer. This concludes my report. 

Secretary- No Report

Treasurer Here’s our, this is for the month of March. We had total revenue of $11,402 versus a budget of $10,000. Our 7th Tradition. Contributions seem to be tracking rather well. Operating expenses were low, $2,688 versus a budget of $12,805. We’ll look at those a little bit later. Operating income then was positive of $8,714. Versus a budgeted loss of $28.05. For the year to date. These are for the 3 months, January, February, and March. The total revenue has been $32,937, so it’s coming up to where we were tracking. Operating expenses, again, low at just under $10,000. Versus a budget of about $30,000. We had positive income of $23,000. Here’s our balance sheet as of March 30th. And I’ve compared it to where we were on December 31st, so we now have, total current assets, that’s our bank accounts, basically, of $178,000. It’s up roughly $22,000, that is shown in our income. This $22,900 is our retained earnings for the year. I’ve just highlighted a few variances. We’re close on contributions. Administrative expenses are significantly under budget. Unity Convention, of course, is behind. That’s a matter of timing, and I’m sure that Jen will be catching up with her Unity expenses. Total special workers is running significantly under budget. $5,000 of that is the bookkeeper, we have not felt it necessary as yet. The board may decide that Felix and I are dropping the ball here at some point and want to hire a bookkeeper, but we haven’t felt that that was necessary yet. So, that $5,000 is probably a permanent variance. Total technology’s running a little under budget, although, It’s not surprising for this time of year. A couple of items that we have put to bed. Susan mentioned that we made disbursements to TIAA and Code for Recovery. Those are done. 

We’re having to do some work to come back to this group with a recommendation for the international disbursements of our excess funds from last year, $12,900. It turns out, as we’ve discussed here before, it’s not so easy to find landing spots for those, but we’re working on it. We’re having an ongoing discussion going on with a person at the General Service Office, and he’s helping us work our way through this. We’ll get to that. 

We mailed off the application for tax rebates to Canada from last year’s international convention that, that’s taken care of. We’ve completed our tax reporting to the IRS for this year. It’s not yet been submitted, but we have till May 15th to submit it. We want to make sure it’s all correct. We’re going to have that checked over and make sure that we’re on solid ground with filing that 990. It impacts our nonprofit status. We may want to consider a reallocation of funds to projects that may be possible for us to complete during the year, which we would not otherwise have planned on. I think if we go back to the assembly in June with a well-thought-out plan of ways to reallocate the amount of money that we have 

in our budget, then we should be prepared to do that, so that we have the second half of the year in order to do that work. That completes my report. Thanks.

Tech – Hello, Mark, Alcoholic, and, tech is humming along. There’s been more, participation at the committee meetings the last couple months. It’s been nice to see more people coming out, the assembly went pretty well except for some interpretation issues, not having them, that was the primary issue.

Directory cleanup is going along slowly, but steadily, in terms of identifying meetings that are no longer active. There’s about 150 or so have been removed from the directory, or archived, I should say. The Code for Recovery team has been making progress, but I would say very slowly. So, we’ll continue to remain patient, see what happens with our directory, and changes there.

The safety workshop will come up right after the IGR form and Jan will help me get the flyer done by tomorrow, so we can communicate to many groups, particularly all the directory meetings and their contacts asking them to come and talk about what kind of safety issues they deal with as a group, outside of just Zoom controls, many of the things Jan alluded to earlier.

IL – Basically, what I’ve been doing is assisting the Unity Committee in the different tasks that they are taking on to make the convention. I’ve been, working with countries in Latin America, especially Hispanic, speaking, groups that at one point or another, were interested in listing with our OIAA, going to their meetings and telling them what OIAA stands for, how we can help them, and I’ve gotten good feedback, so I don’t know if we had any, groups, registering with OIAA from Latin America lately. I received some inquiries, and we’ll see what comes out of it, you know? It’s slow going, but it helps me to get to know the reality of each country, and how we can better the communication with them, and what we have to offer them, basically, you know?

Most of the online groups in Latin America are transnational, meaning they have people from different countries. For example, in Spain, they don’t accept online groups, they don’t want to even talk. A lot of Spanish people belong to groups in Latin America, so that’s what I’ve been doing. 

They are having a little bit of turmoil within AA in Brazil. They just finished their general service conference, and there’s problems with the accounting for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025. I have not interfered or gotten involved in anything, because I don’t want to be seen taking sides with anybody, We got groups list from Brazil, they are active. Their intergroup has almost a look-alike logo like ours. We’ll start seeing some results down the road. Thank you.

TAL – I just continue to, enjoy working with, some of representatives from several different committees. The one thing that has happened within the last week or so is working with, Jen from the Unity Committee on a liaison idea she has had for working with new IGRs and alternates. 

We have updated and corrected the welcome, letter, it’s very warm, very friendly, and I have started using it this week with new groups that are joining OIAA as voting members. So along with the email that I normally send for new groups, I’m including the welcome document, and telling the groups to expect to hear from somebody about a small workshop to help. 

I am on the PAC RGR Steppers subcommittee, and am working, not only with CAM as the chair on some of what we’re doing, but also, as I said, working with Jen, who also is a member of that committee. And it’s all about coordinating what we are doing with the Unity Committee, so we’re not stepping on toes or getting in each other’s ways.

I have visited some of our service committees as I’ve had time, but I’m an active member of Public Information and of the Steppers, 12-step committee. as well as your OIAA registrar. 

I get a lot of contact throughout the month with lots of people, including the finance committee, some of the chairs of some of the service committees. The 12-step committee has already received 9 requests for urgent help, or urgent requests for help with drinking, and of those,10 different countries were represented. We’ve heard from a man from France, someone from Mexico someone from Nigeria, someone from the United Arab Emirates, someone from Canada, and of course the others were from the U.S.

PAC had a request in Farsi, a few days ago, within the last week, Susan, as the PAC member, figured out that he wasn’t trying to list a meeting, he was trying to find help with drinking, and she did forward that to the 12-step committee. And I did answer him in Farsi, so that, you know, this is all about working together. And for me, personally, it’s a real joy to be here, and to have the opportunity to work with all of you, so thank you so much. Questions?

Old Business- 

Tech Chair moved to postpone the reconsideration to contact a lawyer about the Governance documents; TAL 2nd. Vote: Unanimous yes. 

Without a discussion of the criteria for holding an executive session the Chair called for an executive session at the end of the meeting for the approval of the new CPC chair.

New Business:

The TAL moved to approve the CPC Charter; Carlos 2nd. Vote: Unanimous yes.

Announcements

Next Assembly will be on June 13, 2026 at 2PM Eastern US

Next Board meeting will be on May 17, 2026 at 2pm Eastern US

First Guidelines committee meeting will be on May 22, 2026 at 11am Eastern US

3rd Annual OIAA Convention will be on November 20-22, 2026

TAL moved to Adjourn. The meeting closed with the Responsibility Statement.

Respectfully Submitted by

Leslieee A

OIAA Board Secretary

Presented 26-5-17