2025
Q1 (January - March)
(To read the report in Persian, click here.)
Administration
The AIPaD board held 6 meetings from the beginning of its term until the end of March. The most important decisions of the board are listed below:
Structuring and Division of Responsibilities
In the first meeting (January 23, 2025), the main members of the board were determined, and responsibilities were divided among them.
| Responsibility | Board Member |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Saghar |
| Vice Chairman | Saeed |
| Treasurer | Sistanne |
| Event & Cultural | Shohreh |
| Clubs | Fatemeh |
| IT | Armin |
Furthermore, the admins of various clubs were appointed.
- Sports Club: Alireza Mollaei Ardestani
- Fun Club: Maryam Mousavi
- Book Club: Vahid Hossein Abadi
- Music Club: TBD
- Literature Club: Sajjad Homayoun
- Film Club: Mohammad Ramezan Nejad
- Art Club: Yashar Haghverdi
The management of social networks was also precisely defined, with a designated admin and support person for each platform.
Planning for Nowruz and Other Events
In several consecutive meetings, the board focused on organizing the Nowruz 2025 celebration, meticulously planning finances, registration, venue design, catering, and capacity management. Costs for members and non-members were set with discounts for specific groups. The board decided to cover snacks, refreshments, and decorations from the association’s fund to facilitate members’ participation in the Nowruz event. Thus, the membership fee for the Nowruz celebration ticket only included the cost of the venue, DJ, and dinner.
Future events such as the Mehrgan, Tirgan, AIPad’s birthday, bowling, boating, and seasonal celebrations were reviewed in the cultural calendar.
Organizing Internal Administration Tasks
The board decided that meetings would be held bi-weekly, and important matters such as registering administrators for the clubs, the process for members to join clubs, removing non-members from the association, and setting up welcome messages were followed up on.
Transparency and Reforms
A plan to create transferable accounts for association administrators was proposed to ensure the transfer of information between different board terms. Suggestions for changing the election date and the association’s fiscal year were also raised, requiring an extraordinary general meeting.
Communications and Information Dissemination
The board decided to publish a quarterly newsletter covering the performance of each three-month period. Other actions included creating an official email signature, updating the website, and creating an official contract form for instructors. A request for help from members to introduce a lawyer for drafting instructor contracts was posted in the Telegram group.
Cultural and Social Activities
Programs such as watercolor painting, yoga workshops, cooking events, PlayStation events, and Azerbaijani dance classes were designed and proposed.
Events
AIPad organized three cultural and social events with the participation of its members: Chaharshanbe Suri celebration, Nowruz celebration, and Sizdah Bedar.
Fire Festival – Chaharshanbe Suri
The Fire Festival, celebrating the ancient tradition of Chaharshanbe Suri, was held on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM at Skovlegepladsen Kronhjorten. Ninety-two people attended this celebration. Food such as Ash Reshteh (noodle soup) and various snacks were served to the guests, and the atmosphere was very friendly and lively. In accordance with the tradition of Chaharshanbe Suri, participants jumped over the fire and experienced exciting and joyful moments.
Summary of the Chaharshanbe Suri 2025 Survey from Event Participants:
The number of participants in the event was 92, and the number of survey respondents was 20.
Most participants expressed high satisfaction with the event; the quality of the food (Ash Reshteh and snacks) and the overall atmosphere of the event received the highest positive ratings. The registration and information processes were also generally evaluated as smooth and acceptable, although some individuals mentioned the need for simplicity (compared to previous years when registration was through MobilePay Box). Access to the location was convenient, but suggestions were made for more detailed information (e.g., stating that the event would be held outdoors). One notable point was the emphasis by some participants on the need for the event to be more inclusive for new members and to have a greater sense of welcome.
Overall, 95% of individuals expressed their willingness to attend future events, indicating positive engagement and general satisfaction. This feedback provides a good basis for improving future experiences, especially in terms of better attracting new members and providing clearer program details.
Nowruz Celebration – Welcoming Spring
The Nowruz celebration, in honor of the Persian New Year, was held on Saturday, March 22, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 12:00 AM at Den Selvejende Institution Havarthigaarden. One hundred people attended this event. Guests were treated to snacks, drinks, and Ghormeh Sabzi (herb stew), and the beautifully arranged Haft-Seen table added a special charm to the ceremony. Music and dance created a joyful atmosphere, and participants spent pleasant moments together. This celebration was an opportunity for everyone to celebrate Nowruz traditions in the best possible way.
Summary of the Nowruz Celebration Survey Results:
The number of registered individuals for the program was 100, and the number of survey respondents was 34.
According to the survey conducted, most participants rated their overall experience of the Nowruz celebration positively. The highest levels of satisfaction were related to dinner and registration. The arrangement of the Haft-Seen table also received positive feedback, although the feedback on snacks and drinks had slightly higher neutral and negative responses, including the serving of different drinks and the refreshment table being far from the main hall.
The music and entertainment section had the most diverse opinions, with the ratio of negative and neutral feedback to positive being almost equal, indicating that more attention should be paid to the selection of music styles, performance methods, or interaction with the audience.
In the venue section, the available options were very limited, restricting our choices. More than 8 options were considered, but they were not suitable for our program. Ultimately, the venue where the event was held was chosen at a cost of 11,000 DKK.
This feedback is very valuable to us and will certainly be taken into account in future planning.
Sizdah Bedar Celebration – A Day in Nature’s Embrace
The Sizdah Bedar celebration was held outdoors on Saturday, April 5, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. This event did not require registration, and participants brought their own food and drinks for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. The natural and friendly atmosphere made this celebration an enjoyable experience. Participants played together, spent happy moments, and enjoyed the spring air and nature.
Clubs
Sports Club
- Held the 16th series of badminton from November 24, 2024, to February 16, 2025.
- Held the 17th series of badminton from March 2, 2025, to May 18, 2025 (ongoing).
- Held the 4th series of futsal from February 14, 2025, to May 2, 2025 (ongoing).
- Held a volleyball trial session on March 16th, with the full course starting on May 1st.
Art Club
- Held a watercolor workshop with Shilan on February 23rd.
Film Club
- This Club meets on the first Friday of every month.
- Screening of the movie Cinderella Man on March 7th.
- Screening of the movie Mystic River on April 7th.
Book Club
- Held a meeting on January 24th (topic: History of Technology and Future Paths).
- Held a meeting on February 21st (book: The Meaning of Life by Will Durant).
Literature Club
- Held the 13th meeting on January 31st (topic: Human Beings from Rumi’s Perspective with Dr. Mohammad Javad Etemadi).
- Held the 14th meeting on February 28th (topic: Masnavi-ye Ma’navi, Book One with Dr. Taheri).
Finance
In the first quarter, the transfer of the bank account responsibility from Mr. Ali Mohammadi to Ms. Sistanne Mohammadi was completed, and the financial report for the past year was received from the financial supervisors of the 2024 board, which was completely transparent and consistent with the bank records. We are very grateful for their efforts in this regard.
The satisfaction of long-standing members and their membership renewals, as well as the trust of new members and their new registrations, brought in 8640 DKK, which is a source of great pleasure for us.
At the Chaharshanbe Suri event, by keeping the entry fee low to cover only the program costs, we had a profit of only 102.85 DKK. In contrast, at the Nowruz event, due to the significant venue rental cost of 11,000 DKK, the board decided to pay the 5202.10 DKK cost of beverages and snacks from the AIPaD fund to keep the registration fee low for member satisfaction.
The watercolor painting workshop and the badminton program of the Sports Club each had a profit of 482.70 and 1146 DKK, respectively, indicating the positive reception of these programs by our valued members.
We also had a few expenses related to bank account and website fees, amounting to 1064 and 3987.67 DKK, respectively. Regarding latter, we’ve entered into agreement with Zapier (for automation workflow) and Paid Memberships Pro platform for managing the members. Furthermore, we also acquired AIPaD sender name for our SMS marketing purposes from SMSAPI.
We hope that with the increased participation of members and their mutual understanding regarding the consideration of inflation rates for implementing new prices, we can provide more programs with better facilities for you, our valued members.
IT
1. Infrastructure Setup & Handover:
- Taking over the website, membership list, and social media platforms from the previous board: This refers to the initial step of the new board’s IT team gaining control and access to the existing digital assets of the association.
2. Membership Management & Integration:
- Integrating member status: This involves creating a unified database to track the membership status of individuals across different platforms and different types of memberships within the association. This aims for a more organized and accurate overview of the member base.
- Setting up a comprehensive member management system and connecting it to various platforms for better management: This has been a more advanced initiative to implement a dedicated system for managing member data, including profiles, membership levels, and payment history. Connecting this system to other platforms (e.g., payment gateways, email marketing) streamlines various administrative tasks.
- Setting up Zapier Automation Workflows for various tasks (such as controlling and managing member membership in the main group and clubs): This involves using automation to handle routine tasks related to membership management, such as adding/removing members from mailing lists or group chats based on their membership status. This increases efficiency and reduces manual errors.
3. Communication & Marketing:
- Setting up a bot: This refers to the implementation of an automated AIPaD Telegram Bot to provide quick responses to common queries, facilitate registration, or disseminate information.
- Setting up AIPad’s marketing platform (email and SMS) for sending newsletters and various event announcements: This initiative aimed to establish dedicated channels for communicating with members and the broader community about news, events, and other important updates.
- Updating the website by adding various pages for clubs, news, events, association history, improving access to membership information, and making membership levels more transparent: This focused on enhancing the association’s online presence by providing more comprehensive information, improving user experience, and clarifying membership details.
4. Financial Management & Transparency:
- Setting up a comprehensive and integrated accounting system for easier management of financial resources and receiving various reports, along with granting access to financial supervisors for complete transparency of the association’s funds: This is a significant step towards professionalizing the association’s financial management. Implementing a dedicated accounting system will simplify tracking income and expenses, generating financial reports, and ensuring transparency by granting access to financial overseers.
- Adding various payment gateways such as MobilePay to the financial payment system: This aimed to make it easier for members to pay membership fees or event registration costs by offering multiple convenient payment options.
5. Operational Efficiency & Access Control:
- Improving the access method to the hall/room booking system for the clubs: This initiative focuses on streamlining the process for different clubs to reserve venues for their events, making it more user-friendly and efficient.
- Defining and creating dedicated access for the Poetry and Book Clubs to invite guests for holding various events: This involves providing specific permissions and functionalities within a system (Microsoft 365 and Google Shared Drive) that allows the admins of the Literature and Book Clubs to manage guest invitations for their events without needing full administrative access.
6. Google Nonprofits Program:
- Getting verified by Google to be granted free premium access to Google Workspace and Google Ads for Nonprofits: This refers to the initiative to enroll in the Google for Nonprofits program to gain access to free or discounted premium Google services, including enhanced features for email, cloud storage (Google Workspace), and advertising credits (Google Ads).
- Receiving a monthly grant of $10,000 from Google to create advertising campaigns on Google: This is a potential benefit of the Google Ad Grants program within Google for Nonprofits, offering a significant amount of in-kind advertising credit to promote the association’s mission and activities on Google search results.