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With the inclusion of the Zoroastrian Association of Arizona (ZAAZ) as the newest member association of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA), the fraternity now encompasses 27 member associations and 13 corresponding members (small groups), according to the FEZANA Bulletin of January 2020. Completing their membership formalities in December 2019, ZAAZ was unanimously approved as a member association from the same month.
To be accepted as a FEZANA member, an association needs to have at least 50 members, an elected board, a constitution, articles of incorporation, byelaws, etc  and needs to be registered with the local and federal authorities as a non-profit, religious organization, explained FEZANA vice president Arzan Wadia when responding to Parsiana’s queries. Further, an association needs to be registered under the Internal Revenue Service classifying it as a 501c3 organization to receive charitable donations that are tax-exempt. The last one is usually the biggest hurdle, and can take from a few months to a year.
Member asso-ciations enjoy voting rights. As per the tiered structure at FEZANA, associations are assigned one vote for every 100 members with a maximum of five votes for 500 members or more. Member associations can additionally nominate individuals to run for elections to FEZANA executive positions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Founded in 1987, Phoenix based ZAAZ, largely comprising Parsis of India and Pakistan, had 71 paying members with four different membership categories in 2019: family (that includes all members who live at the same address), senior family (comprising a couple over 65 years of age), single/student and senior single. Their sister organization, Arizona Zoroastrian Association (AZA), is primarily made up of Iranian Zoroastrians. "They will (also) become members (of FEZANA) soon. It’s in the works. In cases where we have two associations within a 50-mile distance of each other, we need 50 founding members of an association to pledge their primary membership to one of the associations…so that the same members are not counted by both the associations as ‘primary,’” added Wadia.
On January 26, ZAAZ and AZA conjointly organized Jashn-e Sadeh. In the past, members would attend each other’s functions by paying the requisite subscription fees but this time both the associations jointly planned the celebration that was attended by nearly 90 community members, noted a write-up by ZAAZ president Gulnar Bhagwagar.
"Sadeh is a festival to honor fire and defeat the forces of darkness; a time to welcome the warmth and greenery of spring, while saying goodbye to the cold and dark of winter,” explained Bhagwagar, in her brief report on the celebration. Sadeh in Persian means 100. Hence this mid-winter festival is generally celebrated in Iran with the lighting of a bonfire outdoors on January 30, signifying 50 days plus 50 nights before the onset of Navroz on March 21 or 100 days after the onset of winter. Since lighting of a bonfire in a public space is not permitted in USA, at sunset a mini bonfire was lit in a barbeque in Phoenix. Children from both the Associations walked in procession with lit candles to the mini bonfire. The same children then led the congregation in prayer, with everyone’s heads covered in white scarves or topis.
"It was a moving, warm and wonderful feeling of faith and togetherness,” wrote Bhagwagar. "For a community whose major problem is its dwindling numbers, the bonding of Zoroastrians from different parts of the world, of getting to know each other better, and sharing and understanding each other’s customs is of utmost importance,” she added.
Two huge picnic tables overflowed with delectable delights, from bhelpuri and samosas to traditional Iranian fare like kotlets, dolmah and a famous soup ‘ash’ made with herbs, beans and yogurt. There was also pizza, chips ’n dip, fruit and salad platters and many desserts. A ‘must’ at every Iranian event is hot tea and there was a tea station set up at one end.
Both the AZA and ZAAZ committees had organized some games. When playing Bingo, numbers called out in English, Gujarati and Farsi added to the fun! Both associations hope that this event will be the start of many such joint celebrations in the future. "For my committee and me, it was one of the highlights of our term in office,” declared Bhagwagar.