Nurturing Authentic Relationships: An Interview with PEPS Development Director Marion Mohrlok 

By PEPS (Estimated reading time: 7 minutes)

Marion Mohrlok, the PEPS Development Director, has the longest tenure of any employee at PEPS — 17 years! Below, she shares some reflections on how PEPS has evolved over the years, what she loves about her job, and how community members can support our work.  

1. How long have you been with PEPS and what brought you to this role and organization?  

Believe it or not, I started at PEPS in 2007—17 years ago! I was working in fundraising at another nonprofit but realized that a full-time role wasn’t compatible with raising my two boys, who were 2 and 5 at the time. When a friend told me about an opening for a part-time Development Director at PEPS, it felt like exactly what I needed. If someone had told me back then that I’d still be with PEPS 17 years later, I wouldn’t have believed them! 

I’ve stayed because I deeply believe in our mission. Parenting has always been challenging for me, and I’m struck by how little training or preparation there is for this important role. As parents we raise the future, and yet we are all supposed to figure it out on our own and often alone. PEPS offers a simple yet powerful solution—not just to ease the challenges of parenting, but to build the kind of community that’s often missing in our time of nuclear families, and that is so needed in our increasingly individualized society.  

2. How have you seen PEPS evolve over the years?  

The beauty of being with an organization this long is that I have truly gotten to witness—and contribute to—its development and growth. Just like in parenting, there have been highs and lows. When I joined PEPS in 2007, we were in the middle of a leadership transition and tough budget decisions to cut some programs. But PEPS pulled through, focusing on our mission and steadily rebuilding. 

The most transformational shift I’ve seen was in 2016 when a change in leadership and a ready board sparked a period of deep reflection and organizational transformation. We asked ourselves hard questions about who we were serving—and who we weren’t. We moved from focusing on “how many” to “how well” we were serving parents. This work set us on an equity learning journey, leading to a commitment to make equity central to every aspect of the organization. This work also resulted in a bold strategic direction that has guided us since 2019 and was critical to weathering the pandemic.  

We expanded our programs to cover more parenting stages, invested in partnerships and program quality, focused on advocacy to address systemic challenges, and committed to developing our Group Leaders and staff. 

What hasn’t changed, though, is our unwavering commitment to supporting parents through strengths-based, community-building work. We understand that social connection is vital to the health and well-being of parents and families. When parents and caregivers feel supported, children grow up with nurturing relationships, and families become stronger and more resilient. 

3. Who donates to PEPS?  

The majority of our support (64%) comes from individual donors, many of whom have experienced the power of PEPS directly—as participants, Group Leaders, or grandparents who hear about it from their children. They understand the challenges of parenting and want to ‘pay it forward’ so future parents can benefit from the same support. 

Family foundations and grant funders contribute 31% of our fundraising revenue. They see the critical role PEPS plays in reducing loneliness, isolation, and stress for parents, and they invest in our preventative, upstream approach. 

Finally, 5% of our funding comes from corporations and businesses. Currently, PEPS does not receive any government funding. 

4. What values does PEPS center in its fundraising?  

5. What does a typical year of fundraising look like for PEPS?  

At PEPS, we fundraise through several key activities each year: 

• Annual Benefit Luncheon: Our signature event in May brings together 500+ generous friends of PEPS at Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavilion. Over 50 dedicated Table Captains invite their networks to join them in supporting our work, creating a powerful community of supporters. 

• Direct Donor Engagement: We focus on building genuine relationships with donors, meeting with them individually to request annual or multi-year investments in PEPS. 

• Foundation Grants: Throughout the year, we seek funding from foundations by writing grant proposals that align with our mission and goals. 

• Corporate Partnerships: We invite companies to sponsor our work, including Luncheon event sponsorships, donation and volunteer hour matches, and Workplace Giving. 

• End-of-Year Giving Campaign: Each year, we reach out to our community through a giving campaign to rally support for our mission as the year closes. 

6. Doesn’t PEPS charge a program fee when families sign up for a group? Why does PEPS need to do additional fundraising?  

Yes, PEPS charges program fees and offers flexible pricing and financial assistance. But these fees only cover 23% of our annual $2.3 million budget. Some of our work, such as Community Partnerships and engaging in advocacy, doesn’t generate direct revenue. This makes fundraising essential to sustain our programs. 

7. What are your favorite parts of your job?  

I love building genuine, lasting relationships with our donors and funders—when donors truly engage and connect with our mission, they become our partners. Having been with PEPS for so long, I’ve had the privilege to witness the magic that comes from nurturing these relationships and seeing them deepen over time. 

I also love sharing the story of our evolving work, strategizing for the future, and collaborating with a team that’s creative, innovative, caring, and truly passionate about supporting parents. 

And finally, there’s the joy of our mission itself—and the occasional baby snuggle is an added bonus! Seeing firsthand how our work positively impacts families and strengthens communities is incredibly rewarding. 

8. I can’t afford to give financially right now, but I still want to support PEPS. How can I help? 

You can give your time by: 

• leading  or co-leading a PEPS Group 

• inviting other parents to participate in our programs and events 

• connecting us with your networks (company/funders/colleagues…) 

• hosting a table at the PEPS Luncheon 

• lending your expertise, skill and connections as a member of our Advisors & Ambassadors Network 

• helping us advocate for equitable policies for children and families by signing up for our advocacy alerts 

9. What do you wish current or future donors knew about fundraising? 

I wish current and future donors understood the meaningful impact they can have on reducing the pressures of fundraising by: 

• Introducing PEPS to the people they know. We rely on our community to help us expand our reach. The more people who give to PEPS, the more confidently we can assure future parents have the support they need. 

• Giving early in the year! Our fiscal year follows the calendar year, so receiving donations early means we can start making a difference sooner and reduces the end-of-year crunch. 

• Committing to a multi-year gift! Fundraising is ongoing, and knowing we have multi-year commitments helps us plan and allocate resources more effectively. 

• Choosing monthly giving! Smaller monthly contributions can be more manageable for many donors and add up to significant support over time. A $10 or $20 monthly gift goes a long way! 

• Responding to our communications. Our team is intentional with our outreach, and responding, when possible, helps us stay focused on our mission instead of follow-ups. 

• Sharing their giving intentions. Letting us know their giving intentions can help us avoid unnecessary outreach and keeps everyone’s inboxes cleaner. 
   

If you have participated in a PEPS Group but have not yet made a gift, we hope you’ll consider donating today!

Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a difference in the lives of parents and families. Please consider making your gift today!