Rohingya Culture Center

What Rohingya Culture Center does

The Rohingya Culture Center (RCC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in April 2016 by Rohingya refugee Nasir Zakaria, operating from a single facility at 2740 West Devon Avenue in Chicago's West Ridge neighborhood. The organization serves the approximately 2,000 Rohingya refugees in Chicago — the largest such population in the United States — delivering a comprehensive suite of nine integrated social service programs: case management, health support, citizenship classes, adult tutoring, ESL classes for pre-literate learners, academic support, religious education, youth sports, and the Rohingya Youth Club. In 2022 alone, case managers serviced 6,592 cases, secured rental assistance for 150 individuals/families, assisted 153 individuals through employment services, and have cumulatively helped over 300 community members obtain US citizenship.

RCC's service delivery is built on a multilingual staff of 14 who collectively speak eight languages (English, Rohingya, Bengali, Burmese, Hindi, Malay, Tamil, Thai, Urdu), enabling culturally competent support for a pre-literate, stateless population denied education in Myanmar. The organization has no proprietary technology platform; rather, its capabilities rest on shared lived experience between staff and clients, physical co-location in the community, and integrated program design that addresses housing, employment, healthcare, education, and cultural identity simultaneously. Distribution is exclusively direct-service from the Chicago facility, with no technology-based delivery channel.

RCC's revenue model is comprised of individual donations (structured in $25-$1,000 tiers), Islamic charitable contributions (Zakat and Sadaqah), and institutional grants. The Zakat Foundation of America provides an annual grant covering rent, utilities, and staff salary — the operational backbone of the organization. RCC also partners with USA for UNHCR to channel international Zakat donations to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and receives ancillary grants from the Illinois State Library (Adult Volunteer Literacy) and the City of Chicago (Healthy Chicago 2025). All services are provided free of charge to community members.

Name

Rohingya Culture Center

Legal name

Rohingya Culture Center

Website

https://rccchicago.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Rohingya Culture Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Chicago that serves the ~2,000 Rohingya refugees in the city — the largest Rohingya population in the US — through nine integrated social service programs including case management, ESL, citizenship preparation, health support, and youth programs, delivered via a multilingual staff from a single West Ridge facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee and Immigrant Social Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee Reception & Registration (BPADAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee & Humanitarian Newcomer Orientation (Resettlement Support) (EDAAADAI), Newcomer & Refugee Student Support Programs (EDAJAGAH), Refugee/Migrant Health & Resettlement Health Units (HLAJAAAJ)

Keywords

• Refugee social services
• Community case management
• ESL literacy education
• Citizenship test preparation
• Youth development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago, Illinois

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The organization accepts donations from individuals through its website with suggested donation tiers ($25-$150 for quick donate options, and various program-specific amounts). Monthly giving option is available.
2. Zakat Contributions: Islamic charitable contributions collected for both domestic programs supporting Rohingya refugees in Chicago and international distribution through USA for UNHCR to benefit refugees in Bangladesh.
3. Sadaqah Contributions: Voluntary charitable donations used to provide vital support services including citizenship and ESL classes, youth development programs, religious education, academic support, and case management.
4. Zakat Foundation Grant: Annual grant from the Zakat Foundation of America used to pay rent, utilities, and staff salary.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rohingya Culture Center is a community-based nonprofit that delivers free social service programs directly to Rohingya refugees in Chicago from a single physical center. Its core offering includes nine on-site programs: Case Management (benefits, employment, rental assistance), Health Support, Citizenship Classes, Adult Tutoring, ESL Classes for pre-literate learners, Academic Support, Religious Education, Youth Sports, and Rohingya Youth Club. All services are provided at no cost to community members.

Product overview

Rohingya Culture Center is a community-based social service organization offering a comprehensive suite of programs and services for Rohingya refugees in Chicago. The center operates nine core social service programs: Case Management (supporting public benefits, employment, and rental assistance), Health Support (health equity, language access, disease prevention), Citizenship Classes, Adult Tutoring (volunteer literacy coordination), English as a Second Language (ESL) Classes, Academic Support (homework help by university volunteers), Religious Education, Youth Sports (soccer teams and tournaments), and Rohingya Youth Club. Additionally, the center manages three donation programs—Zakat, Sadaqah, and a Zakat Calculator—serving both local refugees and international Rohingya populations in Bangladesh through partnerships. The organization functions as a unified service hub rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Case Management
• Health Support
• Citizenship Classes
• Adult Tutoring
• English as a Second Language (ESL) Classes
• Academic Support
• Religious Education
• Youth Sports
• Rohingya Youth Club

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,592 cases serviced in 2022
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• USA for UNHCRcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024RCC collects Zakat donations in support of international programs benefiting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Zakat allocated for international distribution is facilitated through USA for UNHCR to support nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh.
• Illinois State LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRCC is a recipient of the Adult Volunteer Literacy (AVL) grant from the Secretary of State to coordinate volunteer tutors. This grant enables recruitment, training, and coordination of volunteers tutoring adult learners.
• Healthy Chicago 2025 / City of ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRCC serves as the West Ridge community lead for the Healthy Chicago Equity Zoning initiative through Healthy Chicago 2025, a program designed to strengthen community capacity, improve systems of care, further health in underserved neighborhoods, and transform policies to foster anti-racist, multicultural systems.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• International Rescue Committee (IRC): One of the largest US refugee resettlement agencies, with Chicago operations providing case management, employment, ESL, and health access for newly arrived refugees. Comparable mission at significantly larger scale and broader geography.
• HIAS: National Jewish-founded refugee resettlement and advocacy organization with resettlement operations across multiple US cities including Chicago. Operates at much larger scale than RCC but shares the refugee reception and integration mandate.
• Church World Service: National refugee resettlement agency providing reception, case management, and integration services across multiple US sites. Comparable core services to RCC but operates through federal contracts rather than community-anchored model.

Direct peers

• RefugeeOne: Chicago-based refugee resettlement and social services nonprofit serving multiple refugee communities. Directly comparable in mission, location, and service mix (case management, ESL, employment, health navigation), though not ethnic-specific to Rohingya.
• Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago: Chicago-based ethnic community organization providing case management, ESL, youth programming, and cultural preservation for the Ethiopian immigrant community. Highly comparable as an ethnic-anchored community hub model in the same city.
• Centro Romero: Chicago-based community organization serving refugees and immigrants on the northeast side, offering ESL, citizenship classes, case management, and youth programming. Comparable community-based, ethnic-anchored service model in the same Chicago market.
• Catholic Charities of Chicago: One of the largest refugee resettlement providers in Chicago, offering case management, ESL, citizenship classes, and employment services to newly arrived refugees. Comparable in scope and target population but operates under a federal resettlement contract framework.
• Heartland Alliance: Chicago-headquartered nonprofit providing refugee and immigrant services including case management, employment, legal aid, and health access. Operates a portfolio of programs for newly arrived refugees that closely mirrors RCC's service mix.

Others

• USA for UNHCR: US fundraising and advocacy arm of UNHCR. Listed as an RCC partner for international Zakat distribution; serves as an upstream funder and ecosystem participant in the same refugee population RCC serves domestically.
• Zakat Foundation of America: RCC's anchor funder providing annual grants for rent, utilities, and staff salary. Comparable as a Muslim charitable organization but operates as a foundation rather than a direct service provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rohingya-culture-center

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rohingya Culture Center