“The Seventh Tradition ensures that every SAA group takes full responsibility for its own needs and expenses. As addicts, we were often all too ready to shirk responsibility and allow others to take care of us, clean up our messes, and attend to the necessities of life. In the program we learn instead to be accountable for ourselves and our recovery.”
— Sex Addicts Anonymous, page 87
Information on Supporting ISO of SAA, Inc.
If you are an SAA member and are ready to donate, click on the link below that corresponds to the type of donation you are making.
If you do not know what type of donation to make, or if you want more information about your options, read on below.
For its support, the International Service Organization of Sex Addicts Anonymous depends on two primary revenue streams. These sources of income, along with 2023’s percentages of ISO income are as follows:
Donations
69.0%
Sales
20.0%
Convention Endowment Fund Interest
11.0%
From these numbers, it is obvious that donations are the life blood for the ISO’s ability to serve the fellowship of SAA and to do its part in carrying the message to the addict who still suffers.
The Seventh Tradition
In accepting donations, the ISO adheres to the Seventh Tradition, which states:
“Every SAA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.”
When it comes to donations – whether money or in-kind goods or services – the Seventh Tradition means the ISO cannot accept anything unless it comes from an SAA member. That makes for a simple rule of thumb: if you are not a member of SAA, we cannot accept your support.
However, if you are a member, the ISO not only can accept your donation but needs and solicits it. The only restriction on donations from individual members is that they cannot exceed 3% of the annual budget of the ISO of the date tendered of the gift, bequest, or lifeline. The current limit based on the 2024 budget is $21,000.00. All donations to the ISO are tax deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. Each donation is acknowledged with a receipt, and those who give $100 or more during any given year also receive a donation summary letter each January. Keeping these important details in mind, there are a number of ways you can financially support your service organization.
LifeLine Partners
In 1995 the Board of Trustees established the LifeLine Partners program as a way for individual members and groups to contribute to the ISO on a regular basis. This program has become a vital source of support for the ISO and last year accounted for 71% of all individual donations.
As a LifeLine Partner the member or group pledges to contribute a specific amount each month. Some members fulfill their pledge by sending in a monthly check, but most arrange for the ISO to process their LifeLine Partner gift using a credit or debit card. Nothing could be easier.
Some individual members and most SAA groups that support the ISO do so by simply sending in donations without making a formal pledge. Such donations are called general donations, because they go toward funding general operating expenses. Last year, general donations made up 24% of all individual donations and 68% of all group donations.
Although there are now more than 2,100 SAA groups, only about 20% of the groups support the ISO directly. If that percentage doubled, the additional support would reduce the ISO’s dependence on literature sales by as much as 75%.
To make a general donation, start online at our secure general donation web page. (Click here)
Giving Thanks Events
In 2003, an SAA member from San Francisco wanted to find a special way to show his gratitude for the work that was being done by the ISO in service to the fellowship and to the sex addict who still suffers. He invited other SAA members from the Bay Area into his home on a Saturday afternoon in November for the specific purpose of giving thanks to the ISO. Appropriately, the event became known as Giving Thanks I. More than $7,000 was raised, and the November Giving Thanks afternoons been held annually in the Bay Area ever since raising more than $240,000.
Other local SAA fellowships begin to follow the Bay Area’s example. The Houston Giving Thanks has raised over $186,000 since 2008 and the Phoenix Giving Thanks has raised over $6,000 since 2012. Hopefully, more local SAA fellowships will follow suit.
We have a web page that gives an easy to follow step-by-step guide for hosting a Giving Thanks event in. To learn more (Click here)
Outreach Endowment Fund
The Outreach Endowment Fund was established in 1999 using $22,000 in seed money donated to the Greater Houston Community Foundation by eleven SAA members. In 2016, the fund was worth $137,000. The fund grew over the years and in April 2021, the Board decided transfer funds to new accounts with Charles Schwab.
