Service Body Support

Individual members
OA's diverse membership consists of more than 6,500 registered groups in over 75 countries.

Groups
A group consists of two or more people. Each group practices the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of OA. No member of a group is required to practice any actions to remain an OA member or to have a voice at a meeting.

Intergroups and National/Language Service Boards
Two or more groups can form an intergroup (IG). The intergroup provides services to existing groups within its geographical area and spreads the OA message of recovery to those who still suffer. National or language service boards (N/LSBs) may be formed in countries outside the US and Canada when one or more intergroups serve an entire country.

Regions
OA has 10 regions worldwide that maintain direct communication with groups and intergroups. Regions sponsor local conventions and assemblies. Regional assemblies also nominate trustee candidates to serve on OA's Board of Trustees (BOT), whose members are elected at the World Service Business Conference (WSBC).

World Service
The WSBC, attended by delegates from around the world, meets annually each May to conduct the business of OA and to elect the 16-member Board of Trustees. The board acts on behalf of all members of the OA Fellowship. The World Service Office (WSO) works with the BOT to provide quality support and services to the entire OA Fellowship.

Download these Sample Intergroup Bylaws* to help you draft new bylaws or review your existing bylaws. To vote at the World Service Business Conference, each intergroup must be duly registered, which requires bylaws on file. An intergroup may temporarily substitute a Statement of Purpose until its bylaws can be finalized. Download this Sample Statement of Purpose* for guidance. Email to Lee at lredman@oa.org if you would like the Sample Intergroup Bylaws as a Microsoft Word file to use as a template.

For guidance on a variety of service issues, the following PDF files* of OA Guidelines may help you:

Click here to download the Conference Policy Manual, which includes a summary of continuing effects motions from 1962 to 2007.

Through this new service opportunity, you can help members of the Fellowship who do not have access to computers. Download the Designated Downloader (DD) flyer* for more information and a flyer to post or distribute.

Each year at the World Service Business Conference (WSBC), delegates make decisions that affect OA as a whole. For this reason, it is critical that the WSBC represents the voice of the entire OA community. The Board of Trustees (BOT) established the Delegate Support Fund to assist service bodies that are otherwise unable to send a delegate to this important annual Conference.

The Delegate Support Fund needs your financial support! Help send representatives to the WSBC by donating to the fund. The BOT distributes the contributions to service bodies that cannot afford to send delegates to represent them at Conference and gives priority to service bodies that were unable to send delegates to previous WSBCs.

Since being established by the BOT in 1993, the fund has made it possible for delegates from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United States to attend Conference.

The BOT will allocate donations received by November 1, 2006, to service bodies that have applied for funding to WSBC 2007 and qualify as beneficiaries of the fund. For details about contributing to the Delegate Support Fund, read Delegate Support Fund Contributions. To apply for funds, download Delegate Support Fund Applications.

The Board of Trustees has created a special fund to help service bodies exhibit at professional conferences and conventions that might otherwise be too costly. If you know of a conference or convention at which you think OA should exhibit, consider applying for funding that would help your intergroup, national/language service board or region participate. To apply for funds, download and complete the Professional Exhibits Fund Application.

If you would like to support OA in carrying the message through large conferences and conventions, please consider donating to the Professional Exhibits Fund. You may send your check to the World Service Office at PO Box 44020, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4020 USA, or donate by credit card on the Contribution page.

The Professional Exhibits Manual provides 41 pages of valuable information for OA service bodies participating in professional exhibits. Topics include criteria for selecting appropriate expos and health fairs, budgeting for an exhibit, organizing volunteers, and closing the expo. Appendices contain a list of professional associations, a list of suggested professionals to contact, the professional exhibits fund application, volunteer orientation guidelines, and answers to questions non-OA members frequently ask.

Intergroup Public Information and Professional Outreach Committees may purchase literature through members of the Board of Trustees at a reduced cost when hosting health fairs and professional exhibits or for distribution to professional groups. The reduced cost is the higher of either the actual cost of the literature or 50 percent of the retail price. Shipping is extra. The application form provides space for listing the event, and contact and shipping information; lists the available literature; includes guidelines for making a request; and requires the signature of an OA region trustee. A PDF file of the form is available for download.

Delegates to the 2005 World Service Business Conference (WSBC) adopted a motion directing the Board of Trustees (BOT) to implement a Matching Grant Program to help service bodies participate in projects that will enhance OA unity and carry the message of recovery to compulsive eaters both within and outside OA. Intergroups, national/language service boards and regions may apply for funds.

The motion states that total yearly funding for this program will not exceed 1 percent of total donations to the World Service Office (WSO) for the prior year. Funding for 2008 is $2,500. In the spirit of “matching grants,” the Matching Grant Program will award no more than 50 percent of the cost of the proposed project. Service bodies working together on a project receive preference in fund allocation. Please specify on the application one of the participating service bodies to act as project coordinator. The coordinating service body will provide progress reports to its region trustee.

The application deadline is March 1, and the BOT will allocate funds at its meeting immediately preceding the annual WSBC. It will announce the allocations at the WSBC (and by letter following the WSBC). To apply, download the Matching Grant Program Application and return.

Consensus Guidelines

To find a process by which their decisions would reflect the wishes and concerns of all participating, the Board of Trustees has approved guidelines for the consensus meetings that are held at each quarterly BOT meeting. Although the trustees created the consensus guidelines for use in board meetings, they hope other service bodies may adapt the process to the needs in their areas. Please click on this link to download the trustee article and consensus guidelines.

For news and information about events coming up in your area or areas near you, see the region Web sites listed below. To determine which areas are covered by a region, consult the Map and Description of the 10 OA Regions*.

These links are provided as a courtesy to OA members. Listing them here does not imply endorsement of any outside enterprise that may be referenced in these sites.

*PDF files require Acrobat Reader. If you don't have Acrobat installed on your computer, go to the Help page for instructions on how to download this free tool.