One of the problems with the Folk Alliance is that while its an organization of "grass roots" kind of people, it operates in a "top down" kind of way. Its major decisions are often made behind closed doors with little or no input from the membership. Decisions are presented as final.

Even members of the FA Board of Directors are often out of the decision-making loop. A former board member that I know told me that the board had no input into such issues as to where to hold the conference.