Non-affiliation keeps A.A. free to cooperate without being owned, represented, or directed by an outside organization
A.A. can share information, welcome referrals, rent meeting space, communicate with professionals, and work beside other organizations. None of those relationships makes the outside party part of A.A. or makes A.A. part of the outside party.
The boundary preserves the A.A. name, primary purpose, group conscience, finances, and public neutrality while still allowing practical cooperation that helps alcoholics reach A.A.
Non-affiliation does not mean isolation
A.A.W.S. describes the relationship as cooperation but not affiliation.
(A.A. can support professionals)
Cooperation means exchanging accurate information, making meetings accessible, receiving referrals, and communicating about how A.A. works. Non-affiliation means neither party governs, endorses, finances, represents, or speaks for the other.
The boundary protects A.A.’s name and primary purpose
Tradition Six says an A.A. group should not lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise.
(The Twelve Traditions)
An outside project may be useful or well intentioned, but attaching the A.A. name can imply approval, ownership, authority, or responsibility that A.A. does not have. The group remains focused on carrying its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
Professionals and courts can cooperate with A.A. without directing it
A.A. describes itself as an entirely independent fellowship
; an accepted court-attendance courtesy simply illustrates cooperation.
(If You Are a Professional; A.A. as a Resource for Drug and Alcohol Court Professionals)
Professionals may refer people, observe open meetings, request information, or communicate with A.A. service committees. Courts may impose their own requirements. Neither relationship gives the professional or court authority over A.A. membership, meeting formats, group decisions, or recovery.
Treatment facilities and businesses remain outside A.A.
A.A. is not affiliated with any type of treatment facility
and, as a movement, A.A. is never affiliated with business enterprises of any description.
(A.A. can support professionals; Does A.A. operate hospitals or rehabilitation centers for alcoholics?)
A treatment center may host an A.A. meeting, an A.A. member may work for a provider, and a business may serve people in recovery. Those facts do not make the facility, product, app, club, or service an A.A. operation or an A.A.-endorsed resource.
Other fellowships keep separate identities, services, and finances
A.A.W.S. describes A.A. and Al-Anon as cooperating but not affiliating with the other
, with each fellowship retaining separate committees, staffs, and facilities.
(A.A. Guidelines on Relationship Between A.A. and Al-Anon)
The same principle clarifies relationships with other Twelve-Step fellowships. They may share a venue or communicate, but their groups, membership requirements, meeting lists, literature, service structures, bank accounts, and decisions remain separate.
Renting a meeting room does not affiliate A.A. with the property owner
A.A. groups may rent meeting space in churches, temples, community centers, or other houses of worship
; no affiliation or alliance with specific religious doctrines or movements is implied.
(Faith Leaders Ask About Alcoholics Anonymous)
The practical relationship is landlord and tenant. A meeting location does not determine the group’s beliefs, policies, membership, or identity, and the group should avoid wording or presentation that suggests the host institution sponsors A.A.
Governance and money remain under A.A. responsibility
Tradition Seven says A.A. groups are fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
(The Twelve Traditions)
Separate finances prevent donations, contracts, shared accounts, or property arrangements from giving an outside party control over the group. A.A. members fund A.A. work, and the group conscience remains responsible for group decisions.
A.A. members in outside roles act as individuals or professionals
A.A.W.S. says members working in the alcoholism field do not wear an “A.A. hat” in their working environment.
(About A.A. – We Are Not Professionals)
An A.A. member may own a business, work for a treatment provider, volunteer for a cause, hold public office, practice a religion, or join another fellowship. Those activities belong to that person’s private or professional life and must not be presented as A.A. sponsorship or policy.
A.A. does not adopt the outside organization’s positions
Tradition Ten says A.A. has no opinion on outside issues.
(The Twelve Traditions)
Cooperating with a court, hospital, faith community, advocacy group, government body, or business does not make that organization’s positions A.A. positions. A.A. provides information about itself without joining public controversy on the outside party’s work.