What Program for Early Parent Support does

Program for Early Parent Support (PEPS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1983 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It operates a portfolio of facilitated peer-support programs for parents across the full parenting lifecycle — from Connecting the Expecting (third trimester) through Newborn Groups (babies 2-20 weeks), Baby Peppers (5-12 months), Second Time Around (families with multiple children), and Parents of Adolescents and Teens (ages 10-19) — augmented by Affinity Groups for Working Moms, LGBTQIA+ parents, Single Parents, and Military Families. The organization serves approximately 7,000 families annually across the Puget Sound region via in-person neighborhood groups, virtual Zoom sessions, and a centralized web-based member portal (pepsportal.peps.org) for registration and group management.

The core technology is a community platform built around human-facilitated group sessions rather than software products. PEPS relies on a self-service web portal for profile creation and registration, Zoom for virtual group delivery, and a network of community venues (Good Shepherd Center, Bright Horizons centers, UW Medicine Ballard, Joint Base Lewis-McChord via Greentrike) for in-person meetings. No proprietary software, mobile applications, AI/ML systems, patents, or trademarks are disclosed in the available data.

The business model is a hybrid of program fees and charitable contributions. Program fees from participants cover approximately 30% of the annual operating budget under a Flexible Pricing (sliding-scale) model that allows families to self-select fees; the remaining ~70% is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and partner businesses. PEPS does not receive government funding and operates as an independent 501(c)(3) with Tax ID 91-1212698. Distribution is community-led: families are acquired through healthcare provider referrals, birthing class partnerships, word of mouth, social media, the PEPS website, and email outreach. The organization employs 11-50 staff and has no parent company, subsidiaries, or M&A history.

Name

Program for Early Parent Support

Legal name

Program for Early Parent Support

Website

https://peps.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PEPS is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1983 that runs facilitated peer-support groups for approximately 7,000 families annually across the Puget Sound region, spanning expecting parents through parents of teens, funded by a mix of sliding-scale program fees and charitable donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Parenting Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Other Individual and Family Services (62419)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Parent Support Groups & Peer Networks (EDACALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services (EDACALAH), Family Coaching, Parent-Mediated & Home Visiting EI Services (EDACAFAJ), Parent Mental Health, Stress Management & Wellness Programs (EDACALAJ), Maternal, Child & Family Health Organizations (BPAGACAF)

Keywords

• Peer support groups
• Parenting support services
• Family community programs
• New parent education
• Parent wellness programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Program Fees: PEPS collects program fees from participants joining peer-support groups. These fees comprise approximately 30% of the organization's annual operating budget. Flexible pricing options allow families to choose fees appropriate for their financial situation.
2. Donations and Grants: The majority of funding (approximately 70% of annual budget) comes from donations by individuals, foundations, and partner businesses. PEPS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and does not receive government funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support) operates facilitated peer-support groups, gatherings, and workshops that connect parents across all stages of the parenting journey—from the third trimester of pregnancy through the teen years. Programs include Newborn Groups, Baby Peppers, Second Time Around, Connecting the Expecting, Parents of Adolescents and Teens, and identity-specific Affinity Groups for working moms, LGBTQIA+ parents, single parents, and military families. Services are delivered through neighborhood-based in-person meetings and virtual video sessions, supported by a web-based member portal for registration and group management.

Product overview

PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering a unified portfolio of peer-support programs for parents across all stages of the parenting journey. The core offering consists of PEPS Groups, which include Newborn Groups (for babies 2-20 weeks), Baby Peppers (5-12 months), Second Time Around (for families with older siblings), and Connecting the Expecting (for third-trimester parents). The portfolio extends to Parents of Adolescents and Teens (PAT) groups and Affinity Groups (Working Moms, LGBTQIA+ Parents, Single Parents) for identity-specific support. All programs are facilitated through the PEPS Portal member platform. The organization serves families across the Puget Sound region with virtual and in-person options, supported by a Flexible Pricing model to ensure accessibility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Newborn Groups
• Baby Peppers
• Second Time Around
• Connecting the Expecting
• Parents of Adolescents and Teens (PAT)
• Affinity Groups
• PEPS Gatherings and Workshops

Quantifiable outcome

• 7,000 families served annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments9 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Greentrike Children's MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPEPS partners with Greentrike Children's Museum at Joint Base Lewis-McChord to offer monthly drop-in peer support groups for military families with children ages 0-12. This is a paid contract role for group leaders and provides specialized support for a underserved population.
• Bright HorizonsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBright Horizons childcare centers serve as community site locations for Baby Peppers groups in various neighborhoods including West Seattle, Bothell, Bellevue, and Everett. PEPS uses these facilities for in-person group meetings.
• UW Medicine BallardminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUW Medicine Ballard serves as an in-person meeting location for Expecting Parents groups, demonstrating healthcare provider partnerships for referral and space sharing.
• ArmoireminorGTM or Marketing PartnerArmoire, a professional wardrobe company, sponsors the 'Reconnect, Rise & Thrive' event for working moms, providing complimentary professional headshots and wardrobe offers to participants.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Healthy Families America: Prevent Child Abuse America affiliate program delivering home-visiting peer support to new and expectant parents. Comparable to PEPS on target population (expecting and new parents), nonprofit funding structure, and trauma-informed peer-support model, though national in scope.
• Parents as Teachers: National nonprofit delivering evidence-based parent support through home visits and group connections, focused on early childhood development. Directly comparable to PEPS on parent-education plus peer-coaching model, but uses a home-visiting model rather than neighborhood group meetings.
• La Leche League International: Global nonprofit providing mother-to-mother peer support groups, primarily focused on breastfeeding. Closest precedent to PEPS' neighborhood-based, volunteer-facilitated peer-group model for new parents, with comparable reliance on donations and member-led meetings.
• MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers): National 501(c)(3) facilitating peer-support groups for mothers of young children through church and community-based chapters. Closest direct analog to PEPS Group model and member-led peer-support delivery, with much broader geographic coverage.
• New Parent Support Program (NPSP): U.S. Marine Corps–sponsored program offering voluntary counseling, parenting education, and peer support to military families with children 0-5. Directly comparable to PEPS' military-family offering at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and serves an overlapping population.

Emerging players

• Peanut: Mobile app connecting women through life stages including motherhood, with millions of users. Competes for the same social-connection and peer-support use case that PEPS addresses, with a fundamentally different digital-native, asynchronous delivery model.
• Cleo (formerly Cleo Parents): Tech-enabled parental benefits and family-support platform, primarily serving employer-sponsored users. Competes for B2B employer-funded parental support spend that could otherwise route to nonprofit providers like PEPS, with stronger digital infrastructure and analytics.

Regional players

• Kindering Center: Seattle-area nonprofit providing early childhood developmental support, parent coaching, and family services to families of children with developmental delays. Comparable in mission and Puget Sound footprint, focuses on early intervention rather than open peer-support groups.
• Parent Trust for Washington State: Washington State nonprofit providing parenting education, family support helpline, and group programs across the same Pacific Northwest region as PEPS. Adjacent peer offering parent education classes and resources that compete for the same regional parent-services funding pool.

Broad incumbents

• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Large publicly-traded provider of childcare, employer-sponsored family support, and early education with global reach. Functions as a PEPS site partner today but represents the scaled, commercial alternative for working-parent support that PEPS's programs are positioned against in working-mom cohorts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PEPSforParents
• Facebookfacebook.com/ProgramForEarlyParentSupport
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/peps-program-for-early-parent-support-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Program for Early Parent Support