← We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits
We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits
646. Community-Centered Program Design: Lessons from Arab Women United - Zahraa Alrafish
00:29:51
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- [00:01]
A
Hey, friends, you know we love powerful tech that tells a story of what's happening within your mission. But when that tech is incredible and free, we have to shout its buttery goodness from the rooftops. GiveButter is the easiest to use, all in one nonprofit fundraising platform that empowers millions of change makers like you to raise more, pay less and give better. Nonprofits use GiveButter to bring together multiple categories of tools including mobile friendly donation forms, fundraising campaigns, events, auctions, email marketing, a built in CRM, and so much more. And thanks to their 100% transparent tip or fee model, GiveButter's core fundraising features are free no matter how many contacts you have. Head to givebutter.com weareforgood to sign up for your free account today and get started in minutes. Hey, I'm John.
- [00:55]
B
And I'm Becky.
- [00:56]
A
And this is the We Are for Good podcast.
- [00:58]
B
Nonprofits are faced with more challenges to accomplish their missions and the growing pressure to do more, raise more, and be more for the causes that improve our world.
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A
We're here to learn with you from some of the best in the industry, bringing the most innovative ideas, inspirational stories, all to create an impact uprising.
- [01:16]
B
So welcome to the good community. We're non profit professionals, philanthropists, world changers, and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.
- [01:27]
A
So let's get started. Becky, how are you doing y'?
- [01:31]
B
All? I am so excited about the community builder that we have today on the podcast. It is our joy to have Zahra Al Rafish on the podcast. She is the founder of Arab Women United and this is such an important conversation that we are so excited to bring to you. And she has been built this incredible network that's based in Metro Detroit. She is a social work student, an Access outreach coordinator, and she is also a Spring 2025 Change Collective fellow. And so she has built this thriving nonprofit movement that is dedicated to empowering Arab and immigrant women through mentorship, wellness, leadership and entrepreneurship programs. And since 2002, Arab Women United has served more than 30, 300 women through all of these initiatives. Wellness, Career, Empowerment. They've mobilized John, over 200 volunteers and established three university chapters across the region. We are talking about how to design programs that truly serve your community. Zara, welcome to the We Are for Good podcast. We're so excited that you're here.
- [02:40]
C
Well, wow, that introduction was absolutely incredible. Thank you so much. I'm so, so excited to be here. I'm so honored to be in this space and to share you know, my experiences and my knowledge with you all. So it's such an honor to be here.
- [02:56]
B
I just think this movement that you've created is so beautiful. I think listeners are going to learn so much, and. And before we get into what you have built and the way that it is just rippling into the universe, we want to get to know you, and we want to get to know little Zara. Take us back. Like, what was she about? How did she get into this work?
- [03:18]
C
Yeah. So I was born here and raised here in Detroit, Michigan. And so I would, you know, occasionally every few years, go back to visit my home country, Araq. And so that really kind of shaped the way I saw a lot of the, you know, situations that affected women in my community just firsthand. Being in my home country and being here in Detroit that has such a large immigrant and out of population. And so with seeing both sides of just how things are affected for women all over the globe, I really just decided one day that I was kind of sick of seeing women push aside their own talents, push aside their own passions, and just give up on themselves a little bit to please others or to please their family or to please whatever the community might need from them. And so I decided to start something in college. So I was at a community college at Schoolcraft, and I was dealing with some things on my own personal journey, but I was mainly just feeling like there was a huge divide. And I never felt that there was a community that I could walk into that had women of all ages, women from all over the world, spoke different languages, but still could come together and have the shared purpose of uplifting and empowering one another. And I decided me and a few of my girls got together, we started a community club on campus, and from there, it just really started growing, and we started adding more to it, started doing more events. And that's just kind of how I got my journey to be where I am now.
- [04:55]
B
And core value number eight in this community is that community is everything. And I love that you have met these women, where they're at, you know, whether it's physical or whether it's online and you're listening. And that has got all the tenets of building a beautiful community that you just keep listening and growing and the table just keeps expanding. So I want you to give our listeners kind of an overview of Arab Women United. So tell us a little bit of its story.
- [05:25]
C
Of course, it was started out as a community college organization, so we were just a club on campus. It was just me, Deborah, Daw, Catrice, all getting together. And we decided that there was a huge lack of educational resources and educational opportunities to learn about the Arab culture, about our language, about just. There were so many misconceptions that we were seeing in the media and we just wanted to educate and really give our own story. So we had the most amazing support from our diversity and inclusion organization on campus. And they were really supportive of us and we would meet with them constantly. We started hosting these educational events like through Arab American Heritage Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and we would host get togethers every week of just us sharing our stories, needs, healing circles, and talking about how we can really help one another and support one another. How can we create friendships in this group? And from there we really just kind of blew up, I would say. We, we had a social media platform and of course we started seeing a lot more women asking for different events, different things going on, different programming. And then we established and became our own nonprofit in 2023. That's when Arab Women United really, you know, got off the ground and started, started having our own programming, our own kinds of internships, opportunities. And our core mission and value is to really ensure that women have a safe space to learn, to feel empowered, to get educational opportunities, and to also have access to the wellness resources that they need. So we don't just focus on the educational aspect of things when it comes to entrepreneurship or to learning about, you know, how to make income for yourself. We also focus on the nutritional aspect of things, mental health, you know, exercise. These are all such core pivotal things that women need in their day to day life. And so we focus on ensuring that we have monthly workshops or monthly seminars that educate on these things, as well as our internship program that we started last year for young girls to get involved with confidence building, career building, all the skills that they might need to really get into college. We try to really just have a series of events that speak to our audience. We try to listen to what our audience really needs. And our events are always changing up. So if our community is like, hey, we're dealing with a lot of heavy stuff right now. Can you host maybe like a mental health or a healing circle or something that really just speaks to what we're feeling right now, then we will absolutely drop everything and say we're going to do this this month. So we're really just community centered, community oriented, and we have an amazing board of women that are from all over the world and also just give so many different perspectives to women from so many different walks of life.
- [08:18]
A
I mean, I love hearing how you think about things, how you're so curious and meeting the moment with such intention. And you're. You're taking me back because we started this year lifting trends we saw across the sector that we felt like were so vital to embed into our organizations. And the one we lifted was called Own youn Narrative. And we spoke to Dr. Tim Lamkin. That's episode 600, if you want to go back.
- [08:40]
C
But he.
- [08:41]
A
Tim said this, and I want to kind of kick it to you and ask for you to break down some of the misrepresentations that y' all owned your narrative instead and put something out in its place. But Tim said liberation only happens when we're honest and when we move deeper, when we go from storytelling to truth telling. And I feel like you're doing this in practice. So connect the dots for us. What were some of those misrepresentations, and how did you use this platform, this community, to change the narrative?
- [09:06]
C
Effy? Absolutely. So one of the biggest misconceptions for women in the Arab and the Muslim community was that we are oppressed, that we didn't have the same knowledge, that we didn't have the same skill set or the same drive that other women might have had. And so we really dug deeper into this, into this idea of what oppression looks like. And why do we constantly kind of get this narrative put on us when we decide to wear the hijab or we decide to follow a certain religion or practice certain things. And one of those biggest things that we did is we broke that down and we started having real and honest and raw conversations. And we said, you know, if it was oppression, of course it would be forced onto us. But when we decide for our own selves that this is something that we choose and we actively want to do every single day of our lives. And that's beautiful because we choose to do it and we love it, then there is. There's no room for hatred in that. You know, we need to make sure that we spread the love. And sometimes it's not. It's not somebody just saying this to be hateful. Sometimes it's some people just not understanding what's going on. Like, why do you guys practice certain cultural beliefs? Or why do you guys dress in a certain way? And it's. It's not to be hateful. Sometimes it's really just they're curious. They don't know, and to educate and to really leave room for open conversations where honesty and just for asking any Questions like whatever came to mind. If you feel you want to ask it, we can definitely answer that, you know, and we can be this kind of this bridge between, okay, this is what we see, but this is actually the reality of what you see. And it's not always just black and white. It's not always what you see on the media. It's important to speak to the people around you and to ask questions and to be curious and it's okay to say, hey, this is never to offend you or to be hateful, but I would love to learn more. And so those were the things that we really tried to teach within our programming, within our different series that we've had. And it's been great. We've definitely had a lot of people come out and just be like, this is something I never knew. You know, it's really the reason that we do what we do is just to see people coming in to our workshops or meetings or whatever it may be coming in, just being really shy, not really opening up, but then leaving just happy and excited and opening up and talking and conversating with us. And that's really our goal for anybody that comes to us.
- [11:42]
A
Hey friends, here's a bit of real talk. This movement doesn't happen without community. And that includes our incredible ecosystem partners.
- [11:50]
B
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- [12:01]
A
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- [12:10]
B
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- [12:22]
A
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- [12:42]
B
Zara, I'm going to ask you a question that is not in the script. How old are you?
- [12:48]
C
I'm 23.
- [12:50]
B
I think this is an important distinction because here we have this brilliant Gen Z in our seat right now in the way that you have built community. I really want to compliment you on this because there is such erasure and misrepresentation not just in western media, but globally. And you have taken this on and you have allowed Arab women to define themselves to tell their own stories, to reshape the way that people see them through this agency and creativity and leadership and just through wellness. I just think when we're about to get into that. My point is you started and by asking and by listening, and now your nonprofit is informing and impacting beyond your community. And that to me is a very powerful movement. And so. And I want to point out that at 23, we have someone here who is able to do that in such an authentic, beautiful, humane way. And I truly cannot. I feel like we're so seeing this movement at the very beginning, even though you've made such strides. So I want to go into the programs that you all have created and you're really meeting community needs through a lot of them. But you've got some core pillars and we'd love for you just kind of walk through how you're meeting these women where they are through these pillars.
- [14:23]
C
Yeah, absolutely. So we have a few different programs. So we have our Empower her business program, which is about entrepreneurship, all about learning about Digital Marketing, Business 101, Understanding different resources that are available for business owners. So we've partnered with Verizon Digital ready to ensure that a lot of these resources for small business owners can be utilized just from the computer at your own home, you know, so you don't have to go anywhere to utilize these resources. A lot of women that we service, they don't have access to transportation all the time, they don't have access to childcare, they. So a lot of the things that we try to do are hybrid. We try to have community gatherings or workshops in local centers, so local libraries or whatever community centers that we can utilize that are close by to the population that we're really trying to serve. And so our Empower her business also has mentors. So other women who have been through the same struggles or are also business owners and kind of know how to really get themselves out there, how to market their business. We have mentors there available as well to help guide any entrepreneurs or any women thinking of being entrepreneurs. And then we have our wellness series. So we've really taken a rounded approach. Kind of how I explained earlier, it's not just wellness in the name, it's wellness in your mental health and your nutrition and the way you take care of your body, intuitive eating, ensuring that you're eating the right things and exercising and really instilling that into your life so that not only will you be successful within maybe your business or your day to day work life, but also successful within your health and ensuring that you're okay internally. And so we partnered with Healing Therapy center to ensure that we can get some discounted therapy appointments for women that come to our group. If there's any women that come to us that ask for, like, you know, alternatives or like, more affordable services, we have referrals in the community and different partners that we work with to ensure we can meet that need. And then we have our she Leads entrepreneurship program. So this is a program that's really new that we've recently incorporated this year, and it's been awesome. All of our she Leads students are great and they're all really enjoying the cohort, which makes me really happy. So this is a program for younger women to get equipped in their skills and communication building, building their LinkedIn, building their resumes, and really ensuring that they're ready for their next step of whatever that may be after college, after high school or being in college, and just not really knowing how do I get into the workforce force? So we have the she Leads internship program for that. And all of our programming, we try to incorporate hybrid. We try to have some translation there for Arabi speakers. And that's Arabic. Sorry, I started speaking in Arabic when I said that, but I love it. So that's something we really. We really just strive to have whatever resources that they might need. And like, sometimes our members will text us like, hey, I have to bring my kids with me. So this workshop is that okay? And we're like, bring them with you. You know, we'll have coloring books for them. Of course. That's something that we've welcomed and we've normalized within our organization. And even for our Empower her gala, which was our huge signature event that we had last year, we had like a table in the back full of just coloring books, toys, like little knickknacks for the kids to play with while the ladies were, you know, listening to our speakers and to our panel. But I think that's really a huge part of, like, the community centered aspect to it.
- [18:07]
A
Yeah. I mean, you're giving a masterclass of creating, belonging, and doing the small things that matter that cut through. It's not about these big strategies. It's about showing up as a human and looking across the room and seeing another human and how can you meet them in that moment? You're doing this. Okay. You're also casually name dropping all these collaborations and partnerships, and I'm just like, y' all are such a young organization. I love that you are dreaming big. You're finding natural ways to create partnerships. Can you kind of explain what does that look like? What does that role been when you find, like, a Verizon to partner with or the local therapy, you know, resource, what does that kind of collaboration look like? And how. What were some tenants that you would lead or lift for our community to be like, this is how this came to be. This is how it happened.
- [18:51]
C
So one of the biggest things that I would say has contributed to our growth as an organization is the way that we've been open to collaborating, and we're very open to creating new partnerships. So the way that we've really secured most of our partnerships or most of our, you know, resource partners is simply by just approaching their organization or just letting them know, hey, this is what we do, and we love what you do. So if you're interested, we'd love to create some sort of resource pipeline. Send our members your way. If you know any women that need help, you can send them our way, and vice versa. And we really just approached it just being open, being friendly, and just creating those connections at different community events. So if there's a gala happening for domestic violence victims, we try to make sure that there's things that speak to our audience or speak to the community that we serve, and we're there to represent our community. And I feel eventually the bigger organizations that serve our community as well started to kind of pick up on that, like, okay, they're here. They're servicing women, and they're doing this, and they seem to be doing it and representing it well. So eventually they started reaching out to us, and we never, like, we didn't have to reach out to them. They just kind of did it naturally because of the way that we centered ourselves in, you know, the spaces that spoke to us and, you know, made sure that the spaces that we were in also spoke to others that service the women that we service.
- [20:21]
B
I just think it's a brilliant framework, and. And we want the framework to be something that other people can use. And so we would love to help our listeners design programs that meet their community needs in the. In such a beautiful way. In the. In the same way that you have with the belonging, with the str, with the nuance. So we have a couple questions for you about how you did that, and I want to start with program design. So how did you and your team decide where to focus to ensure that, like, not only the programs were responsive, but that people would activate around them?
- [20:56]
C
I feel like it's a huge part of this is Just really listening into, okay, if we're going to create this program, how would it be effective for you? Right? Because a program, we can create it, and you might say, okay, I need a program for mental health, but how is this program going to be effective for you? Right. Like, it can be workshops on mental health or, like, monthly healing circles, but is that going to be exactly what you're kind of looking for? Like, is it going to be inclusive to your language? Inclusive to, you know, how you would want to walk into a room and feel safe, you know? And these are questions that you constantly need to ask yourself. And then also, if we're going to create this program, how can we measure the impact? And when we do measure the impact, how can we continue to grow from there? I would say one of the biggest things that we've done with our programs is we always send out surveys or we always send out just something to get feedback so that we know, okay, this is what you didn't like, well, this is what we're going to change. So you do like that, right? And also meeting people where they're at. I know this was kind of something that we talked about earlier. If you want to create effective programs, you have to meet people where they are at. It's about what you're bringing to the table. It's about the handouts that you're handing out. It's about the resources, it's about who's hosting these things, who's going to be on the panel, what women are leading it. Are they receptive to your community? Do they understand the women that you're serving? Do they have any questions about your community that are unanswered? You really need to analyze the people that you're working with and ensure that the women that you're bringing into these circles feel comfortable with that. And I truly feel like that's just been something that has changed things for us, is just really getting in that feedback and then from there, just implementing it.
- [22:47]
A
I mean, this is the playbook, y'.
- [22:48]
C
All.
- [22:49]
A
Can we talk about scaling for a second? Because you've mobilized 200 plus volunteers. Is this right? Like, 200 volunteers? You've expanded through university chapters. What does, like, empowerment and engagement look like once you can't be in every room? You know, I think there's a difference there. When you really are trusting the next ripple to take the lead and take the baton, what does that look like?
- [23:12]
C
So for me, it was about the way that I believe in my leadership. So it was mainly just like, there's Other women that want to lead and they are passionate about leading. So how can I be an effective leader? By encouraging them and ensuring they have the resources that they need to lead. And so I would have conversations with our chapter leaders. I would sit them down. I would be like, what's the strategy? What are you passionate about? And how can I, as a leader, help you lead more women within those chapters or within that university? And it's really just about hearing, okay, this is what I want to do as a leader, and meeting them, okay, well, if that's what you want to do as a leader, this is what the organization stands for, and this is what, you know, we don't stand for. So just making sure that we're speaking to that movement, that we want to make sure all women feel included, all women feel safe, and just really instilling those values into everybody. Leader that I know of that is leading within other rooms that I'm not in. And I know that I can trust them because they have that mission and they know what we stand for as an organization and what we don't stand for as an organization.
- [24:16]
B
I just see that you're so early in this journey, but I also want to say, apparently, John, I'm just quoting all of our core values today, but I see core value number two in this early organization, which is play the long game. I just want to say, hats off, Zara. Y' all are on a beautiful journey. And I am just wondering, when I look at this organization, if there's a woman whose story you think about who's been impacted by your mission that you might share with us today.
- [24:48]
C
When I honestly, like, this was something that I was asked for our board video that we recently shot. One of the questions was, who is that woman that you think of when you think about your organization? And I would have to say it would genuinely, it would be my mom. I remember her when I was really young, just always wanting to go to school or wanting to have experiences where she could go to work. And she was always so inspired by women that did that, but she just never had that support system. Like, she never saw women that looked like her doing certain things. So she never believed that she could. And I watched that growing up. And now that she sees the organization and the movement that I'm building, she's always telling me, I'm so proud. And I wish that this was something I had when I was your age. I wish I had support. I wish I knew that Arab women could do these things. And, you know, women that may not have had this in the past, but now that they see that this is something we're building, it brings them joy and it makes them feel happy and inspired.
- [25:55]
B
We have to know your mother's name.
- [25:57]
A
Yeah, let's celebrate her. What's her name?
- [25:59]
C
Her name is Eamon. Hi.
- [26:01]
B
Amen. You raised an amazing daughter.
- [26:06]
A
I mean, we're all the feels over here because we can talk about what your impact has looked like over the last few years, which is already so amazing and impressive. But what we haven't even talked about or thought about is, like, how many people are watching that are feeling like they're getting that permission that they didn't need, but it helps. And the vision of what is possible because you put yourself out there. So, so proud of you. So thankful to know you and the work that you've done. We. I'm sad. This is like our last question with you today, but we ask all of our guests for, are there one good thing? And this could be like a personal mantra to you or maybe a habit or a hack. What's something that you would share with our community today?
- [26:46]
C
This quote that I always repeat to myself, and I don't know who exactly to quote it with, but it's. It's a quote that I always think of, and it's a mantra that I kind of live by. And it's. It's. They tried to bury us, but they didn't know we were seeds with this new generation of these amazing leaders. And we all have these voices that we're utilizing, like, we are all seeds. And no matter what your age is, no matter where you come from, you have that voice and you have that power to change something. If there's something that you see that you are hurt by, if there's something that you know deep down you can do something about, use your voice and take action. It doesn't matter how small or how big this issue may be, you can still do something about it. As long as you're living, as long as you're breathing right now, in this very moment, you have the power to change something, whether it be in your life or in somebody else's life. So that's a quote that I always carry with me, and I. That's kind of a little bit of a. I would say maybe a mantra. I don't. I don't know.
- [27:51]
B
Yeah, I mean, that quote just comes through in every part of your brand and every part of your mission. The way that you have shown up here today and been so expressively joyful and inclusive. It is the way. And I just want to compliment you, my sweet friend, because I think these conversations and movements matter so deeply. To shift cultures, to shift norms, norms to shift, you know, misrepresentation. I think it shifts us to hope. And I really feel like you have created something that also transforms isolation into solidarity and stereotypes into truth and oppression, into agency. And you have flipped the script on every possible way. And I'm just so deeply proud of you. And thank you for that beautiful quote. So tell our listeners how they can connect with Arab Women United and tell us where you hang out online and how they can connect with you, too.
- [28:58]
C
So anybody who wants to connect, feel free to follow us on social media. Our Instagram is our main platform right now. We also have a LinkedIn. It's Arab Women United on Everything. ArabWomenUnited.org is our website. So if you want to learn more about our mission, our values, some of the work that we're doing, some upcoming events, if you want to get involved. We're always looking for volunteers. We're always looking for speakers and women who want to lead. So please feel free to check out our website and our social media. And if you want to connect with us further, you can email us@contactarablemanunited.org so that's all of our contact points if you're ever looking to stay in touch with us.
- [29:39]
A
Oh, my gosh.
- [29:39]
B
I'm so excited about this movement.
- [29:42]
A
Yeah. So grateful for this convo. Love what you're building. Love the way that you're building it. Thanks so much for being here.
- [29:48]
C
Thank you so much for having me.
- [29:50]
B
We are rooting for you.