As the Aria Cultural Center Executive Director, I want to promote clear and transparent communication, so I put our Khan-eh Iran journey in great detail below with this executive summary. I urge every one of you to read the details. I stand behind all dates and facts presented in this communication.  I also encourage community members to attend town halls organized by the BOD or myself to address any concerns you may have. 

 

 

 

 We received our certificate of occupancy (CO) for the three units which our building is divided into:

It has been a long journey since January 2020.  I would like to thank everyone who supported this project financially and all who volunteered to help. Without you, our 34-year dream of having a place to call home would not have come true! Today we have our own facility where we can:

 

As of yearend 2022, more than 167 of you contributed financially to this project during this difficult time. Amounts of donations/purchased Promissory Notes ranged from $25 dollars up to $350,000 for the purchase and renovations of the Khan-eh Iran building. We collected  $780,953 in donations and raised $808,500.00 in the sale of Promissory Notes. This amount includes $231,500 from Giorgios Hospitality and Lifestyle Group (GHLG) for the purchase of all kitchen equipment, tables and chairs, tables settings, and decorative elements, all of which are now assets of ICSNC (more info to follow below.) The total amount raised is $1,589,453.  These funds came from individuals living in the GREAT STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.  None of these funds came from outside of our state.
Also, I would estimate that the number of volunteer hours put in by members of our community between meetings, developing plans, and physical labor, was at least 20,000. This is an amazing figure.

I would like to thank the Khan-eh Iran committee members who have met every Monday night since January 2020 and as of today are still continuing to meet for an average of 2 to 3 hours per meeting. Without the outstanding support and hard work of this team under the leadership of Mr. Mike Zibaie, our 34-year dream of having a Khan-eh Iran would not have happened.  I love and have great respect for each of them.  They stood by me in the ups and downs of this project and never gave up. I must also thank the ICSNC BODs, which met monthly to review, discuss, and vote on every major decision made about Khan-eh Iran.

I cannot thank enough the great team that stayed with us all along; Maryam and Paul Mahoutchian, Mahdi Fahim, Hamed Afshari, Afshin Roshdi, Maria Thoenen, Forooz Salim and Nazi Ahmadi Kite.   Also, thanks to Ramin Karimpour and Farazeh Pourshariati for their involvement during multiple phases of the projects.  In addition, Mrs. Maryam Moffatah and Ms. Parisa Jabarzadeghan are now helping us with ACC operations.

We are so lucky for the hours of volunteer work provided by our great community members. We might need to add two more pages to name all names, which is not appropriate in this report, but we must thank Sid Pazokian and Alireza Mousavi specifically for their dedication to showing up on many weekends and their financial contribution to the ACC.

I would like to give you a summary of the three phases of this project and give you financial details as of the end December of 2022.

When the idea of purchasing this particular building and how much it would cost to buy was presented, the ICSNC BODs Khan-eh Iran committee, one of the board members said, “but we only have $50,000 in the ICSNC account; how we can buy a building that has a purchase price of close to $1,860,000” Collectively, the Khan-eh Iran Committee said we could do this with the support of our Iranian/American community and friends. We knew it would not be easy, and it would be much like a marathon and not a sprint but having a place to call home was very important to all of us. The fundraising team hit the ground running. The Covid-19 epidemic had a huge negative impact on our early fundraising effort in that we could not have large gatherings where we could share our enthusiasm and present this project in group settings. We were not deterred, though. The team members and ICSNC members reached out to many people, and we succeeded in securing initial funding. We were very fortunate that the building owner A&G/TRI-MED, LLC. A NORTH CAROLINA COMPANY, not affiliated with any ICSNC member or their family, via the broker Griffin Associates Realtors gave us a discount of $910,000, bringing the actual cost of the building to $950,000.00. Their generosity lowered the bar for us and made our goal reachable. We had more than 140 people that contributed to the initial phase of the Khan-eh Iran project in amounts ranging from $25 dollars up to $150,000 toward the purchase of the building.

During this phase, we raised $222,756 in donations and sold $176,000 in Promissory Notes for a total of $398,756.  We then secured a $750,000 from North State Bank at 4.25% Interest for 10 years with a review after 5 years. The initial agreement with the bank was to pay interest only on the loan until we obtained a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) for the building. 

Phase 1 Financial summary:

            Final Building Price                                $950,000
            North State Bank Initial Loan                 $750,000
            Total Donations Raised                          $222,756
            Total Promissory Notes Raised              $176,000
            Closing Costs and Down Payment        $222,005
            Funds remaining for Renovation            $176,745 

PHASE 2 (Demolition and Plan Approval by the City of Durham)

We closed Phase 1 of this project on June 8, 2020, when we closed on the building.  We immediately started working on Phase 2, the demolition of the walls surrounding the more than 60 small rooms and halls throughout the building and removing the suspended ceilings and worn carpeting in all areas except the ballroom.  With many people volunteering their time (over 3,000 hours), we were able to do much of the work ourselves, saving over $80,000 in costs.  During Phase 2 we had another drive to raise additional funds.  We secured an additional $352,737 in donations and $94,000 in Promissory Notes for a total of $446,737.

It took 14 months to complete the Plans for our building, including Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, Landscaping, Kitchen Equipment, etc.  All of this work was done by very talented members of our community under the leadership of Mr. Afshin Roshdi and his team consisting of Armita Mohammadian, Vahid and Simin (Raad) Pouya, Sahar Teimouri, and Mahmouderza Riahi.  Plans were submitted to the City of Durham and were approved by July 1, 2021. During this time frame, the best initial estimated costs we had for rebuilding was $1,250,000.

Phase 2 Financial summary:

            Total Donations Raised                          $352,737
            Total Promissory Notes Raised              $94,000

PHASE 3 (Rebuilding the Center)

We started Phase 3 immediately after getting the City of Durham’s approval.  As many of you know, after the Covid pandemic hit, there was a shortage of building materials and labor. Unfortunately, this development added tremendous costs and time to the project. We were not deterred!

The Khan-eh Iran committee realized that to have a building we could all be proud of and due to the supply chain issues/inflation we needed to secure additional funds for the remodeling project. We again went to the Iranian/American community and friends, asking for help to complete this phase of the project. Again, through the generosity of many supporters, we raised $205,459 in Donations and an additional $397,000 in Promissory Notes for a total of $512,459.

During this time, we secured an additional $500,000 loan from the bank to put toward Phase 3 IF NEEDED to complete the project. 

The Sattar Fundraising event resulted in $103,300 of funds raised, with a total expense of $49,804.  The net raised funds, $53,496, are included in donations and Promissory notes stated above and below. 

Phase 3 Financial summary:

            Total Donations Raised                          $205,459
            Total Promissory Notes Raised              $397,000
            North State Bank Loan   (1)                    $250,000
            North State Bank Loan   (2)                    $250,000

 

A final fundraising will be scheduled to pay for remaining expenses/invoices not captured in the above 12/31/2022 estimates to have a cash flow until income is generated by the center.

Proforma (10 years) is available upon request.

Internal Audit Committee

Over the past three years, we have had an internal audit committee review our finances annually. The last audit was on Nov-11-2022.  In this audit, the committee members found a discrepancy of 35 cents out of over $1.3 Million in expenses.

Audit Committee Members:
Mr. Paul Mahoutchian: Chairperson
Ms. Moujan Khorram
Mr. Behrooz Mohebbi
Mr. Ramin Karimpour

I greatly appreciate the time and effort committee members put into this project.  The internal audit is important for our organization in general but also because of our non-profit status. As a non-profit organization, we should have an external audit on odd years. The ICSNC BODs has approved an external audit of our books in 2023. I recommend that this take place after we complete our 2022 tax filing.

ICSNC Attorney

ICSNC is fortunate to have many American friends that are willing to help us because they believe in what we are doing for our community.  One of them is the Honorable Attorney Mr. James Jordan.  Mr. Jordan has advised ICSNC over the past three years on the legal aspects/issues of building our Khaneh-Iran. He has helped with the bank loans, the GHLG Contract, easements needed for the installation of the gas line, and with non-profit questions, and more.  His fees for these services could very well cost over $25K.  Mr. Jordan has worked with many Iranian Americans through the years, and because he believes in our need for a place to call home, he has only charged ICSNC $1200 in legal fees. I am extremely grateful to Mr. Jordan for all he has done, but in the future, as our revenue from Khan-eh Iran grows, we will need to hire a Tax Attorney to advise us.

ICSNC CPA/Tax Report

I have been very lucky to have worked with one of the outstanding CPAs in our community, Ms. Minoo Rakhsha for the past three years.  She has been doing our ICSNC Taxes at a minimal cost to ICSNC.  Thank you, Ms. Rakhsha for supporting us.  If you want to review our tax reports for the past few years, you can go to the ICSNC website. This is public information.

Accounting Process

In recent years, ICSNC used Excel for its bookkeeping. When we purchased the building, we continued to use Excel to track revenue and expenses. Some people in our community are questioning why we use Excel for our bookkeeping especially with the income and expenses of the community center. I used Excel because that is what ICSNC had been using, and both I and the ICSNC Treasurers had experience with Excel. Going forward we will be using a different accounting system- possibly QuickBooks, but this is something that will be discussed and decided upon by the ICSNC BODs and knowledgeable volunteers available to migrate our data to the new system.

Giorgios Hospitality and Lifestyle Group ”GHLG” Contract with ICSNC

As part of our endeavor to build an Aria Cultural Center (ACC or Khane-Iran) and to further solidify a sustainable model that will benefit our community, the ACC team selected and signed an agreement with Giorgios Hospitality and Lifestyle Group (GHLG) as our exclusive caterer for our center.  GHLG operates over 15 key restaurants and is well known in the Southeast, with over 30 years of experience in the culinary industry.

To create a sustainable and self-funding center, the agreement helps us to boost demand for our Aria Grand ballroom, the Rumi Crystal ballroom, and Conference rooms by leveraging GHLG’s marketing, social media expertise, and brand experience. GHLG, also as an exclusive caterer, will bring design, operational, and delivery experience catering gourmet food with the highest level of service.   

The agreement was led by me with the help of many other ACC committee members, including our legal team.  It is the most significant achievement thus far in reaching our goal of building and maintaining the center.  In summary, the outcome of the agreement will help us to: 

The GHLG partners have personally donated $75,000 and invested an additional $231,500 in business expenses (kitchen equipment, tables/chairs, place settings, decorative elements, etc.) This amount is considered a Promissory Note (PN.) According to our exclusive contract with GHLC, GHLG forgives $20,000 yearly of the purchased promissory notes as a donation to ICSNC. All the purchased items (equipment) are assets of the ACC and hence ICSNC.  Finally, either party can terminate the contract.  If ICSNC terminates the contract, ICSNC is obligated to pay back the remaining amount of promissory notes within five years.  GHLG has clearly shown that they have a keen interest in the success of the Aria Cultural Center.  We are proud to be associated with GHLG and consider this agreement a win-win for both organizations.

Closing Remarks: 

We would not be where we are today without the generosity of many people in our Iranian/American community and friends.   Our business case shows a bright future where we will pay off both bank loans and all Promissory Notes within 7-9 years. On behalf of the Iranian American Cultural Center Committee, we extend a SINCERE THANKS to all of you.

I will be the Executive Director of the Aria Cultural Center for the next three years. If you have any questions about using this facility, please contact me via e-mail (yahyapour5@aol.com) or telephone at 919-280-9737.

Please remember, “Ask not what your community can do for you but ask what you can do for your community.” This is your Khan-eh Iran; let’s work together to make it the best it can be.

Sincerely,
Kazem Yahyapour