• Home
• About
  • About DATIG
  • History of DATIG
  • History of D.A.
• Literature
  • Welcome to Debtors Anonymous
  • Literature Information
  • 12 Steps
  • 12 Traditions
  • 12 Tools
  • 12 Promises
  • 12 Concepts
  • 12 Tools of BDA
  • Monthly Prayers
  • Recovery Stories
• Meetings
  • Meeting Information
  • Meeting Schedule
  • Meeting Support Articles
  • Meeting Formats
  • Starting a New Meeting
• Contribute
• Service
• Newcomers
  • Getting Started
  • 15 Questions for Self-Diagnosis
  • 12 Signs of Compulsive Debting
• Related Programs
• Contact
  • Contact DATIG
  • Other D.A. Intergroups
  • D.A. General Service Office
  • D.A. en Español
  • Deudores Anónimos

Starting a New Meeting

We are all different in our patterns of debting. Each meeting has a focus on a particular type of behavior that may be more of interest to some individuals and have less benefits to other as their patterns are different. If you would like to see a meeting that focuses on your area of interest what could be a better way than to start one yourself? Being of service is one of the most important tools in our recovery, keeping us coming back and remaining sober.

Requirements for starting a new meeting

The only requirements to start an new D.A. meeting is a desire to do so. It is however suggested that before you do you at least go to several meetings and familiarize yourself with the format.

Suggested procedures on how to start a meeting

1. Have a desire to start a meeting with a focus in mind.
2. Talk to other D.A. members about your idea and ask them if they might be interested.
3. Download a meeting format that contains suggested guidelines for the format of a D.A. meeting. This format may vary, depending upon the group conscience of its members, using D.A.’s Fourth Tradition as a guide.
   • D.A. Meeting Format (suggested)
   • B.D.A. Meeting Format (suggested)
4. Download the primary readings of D.A.. The inclusion of these readings may vary, depending upon the group conscience of its members, using D.A.’s Fourth Tradition as a guide.
   • The 12 Steps of D.A.
   • The 12 Traditions of D.A.
   • The 12 Concepts of D.A.
   • The 12 Tools of D.A.
   • The 12 Promises of D.A.
5. For more literature, purchase one of the Discount Literature Packages from the General Service Office. Depending on the focus of your meeting, either Package will contain literature to contribute to the meeting. Additional resources for
6. Find an open day, time, telephone number, and access code for your meeting. One suggestion is to contact DATIG to secure a spot on the D.A. telephone bridge.
7. After you found your ideal day and time, set the date for your first meeting and start spreading the word.
8. Once your meeting is going, schedule a business meeting where you can elect a secretary, literature person, a treasurer and an intergroup representative as well as any other service positions you may require for your meeting.
   • Business Meeting Format (suggested)
   • Business Meeting FAQ’s
9. Have your intergroup representative attend DATIG business meetings where he or she can announce your meeting to other members and have it added to our schedule. See the Service page for the next meeting date and time. Alternately, you may email the webmaster to be added to the meeting schedule.
10. Contact the General Service Office to apply for a meeting number for your meeting. Group registration allows the General Service Board and the General Service Office to keep in better contact with our members.
11. Once you have received your meeting registration number, contact DATIG to have it added to our Meeting Schedule.

Suggestions on how you can get more people to show up at your meeting

1. Read the board produced literature document How to Keep Your Meeting Alive for helpful tips.
2. Make good flyers for your meeting in Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word (DOC) format. Besides the telephone number, access code, day, and time, you might want to add a description of your meeting as well as the message it carries to the sex and love addicts who still suffer. Think about the purpose of your meeting and what is so great and unique about it.
3. Announce your meeting at other meetings during the time provided and have the flyers available to send via email. It is also a good idea to ask other D.A. members to help you by giving them a flyer they can have on hand to announce at other meetings.
4. Announce your meeting at the DATIG Quarterly meeting. Have your flyer available to email the members. It is a good way to spread the word by making it known to intergroup members. Each representative can take your flyer and bring it back to their meetings and make announcements about it.

The importance of having a DATIG representative at your meeting

As of December 2017, only 4 of the 56 meetings registered with DATIG are sending representatives to the monthly business meetings.

Not only does that mean we have very few people to do a lot of work, it means we don't know what many of our members want and need from us. If you would like to change this and give back by being of service, review the suggested requirements for participation and either let your meeting secretary know, contact us, or attend the next DATIG meeting for more information.

©2008-2024 Debtors Anonymous Telephone/Internet Intergroup (DATIG). All Rights Reserved
Debtors Anonymous literature and references reposted with permission from the Debtors Anonymous General Service Office and General Service Board Inc.