Frequently Asked Questions

There are two ways to become a member of Petworth Peanuts:

• $75 one-time cohort fee (which includes membership dues), or

• $50 annual member dues (for non-cohort members)

• Dues may be prorated approximately halfway or more through the year, but the newborn cohort fee generally remains static. Waivers are always available!

Click here to join / pay your dues! Membership renews every Fall (now available through September 2026).

Fee waivers are always available for cohorts or annual dues, no questions asked, just email hello@petworthpeanuts.com to request.

Check out our Cohorts page here for lots of information!

Our newborn cohorts are designed for parents of newborns*; we've also had some expecting parents participate, but we recommend waiting to join a Cohort until your baby/babies have made their appearance! Expecting parents are encouraged to join our Expectant Peanuts WhatsApp - we provide the join link to new members upon sign up!

So is Peanuts moms-only?! NOPE! If you're a mom, a dad, an adoptive parent, or a caregiver of any kind for a newborn, you're the right fit for a Peanuts newborn cohort!

To join, just click here, pay the one-time cohort fee per family, and you'll be contacted by a Cohort Facilitator with next steps! Note that your cohort fee includes 3 months of discussion sessions and in-person meet ups, plus your regular annual Peanuts dues through Fall. Woohoo!

* Note that we do not impose any age limits on our newborn cohorts! If your child is 6+ months old but the Cohort content is still of interest to you, please feel free to join!

What if you don't have a newborn but want to get involved? Parents of infants and children up to ~5 years old are also welcome to become sustaining annual members of Peanuts! In fact, these members are the majority of our membership, and dues are just ~$50 per family. Peanuts cohort and sustaining members both get exclusive access to members-only events and offerings, like our famous Peanuts Spring Eggstravaganza, the Mother's Day brunch, monthly happy hours / guest speakers, and much more. You can join as an Annual Member here!

We recommend joining a Cohort when you are ready to start in-person meet ups. This will vary by family, but tends to be 1-2 months after baby arrives. Some families feel ready in just a week or two, some families need a few more weeks (or even months!) to get settled. It is 100% up to you! We recommend signing up for a cohort the month after baby arrives; if you find you need more or less time, we will happily move you to a different cohort upon request!

We do not recommend joining an active cohort while still expecting :)

Absolutely! Many of our most active members joined Petworth Peanuts after their child/children outgrew the newborn cohort content. Our average Peanut family has kids ages 0 - 7 years old and beyond! Caregivers with older babies, toddlers and preschoolers can join as Annual Members by paying dues, which gives them access to all of our members-only events and resources. Membership dues are collected in September/October each year.

If you don't have a newborn and/or your child is older than 0-6ish months*, you can still participate in Peanuts! The vast majority of our members are dues-paying "annual members" - meaning that they get exclusive access to private Peanuts members-only events (like the Easter Egg Hunt, Mother's Day Brunch, monthly happy hours and guest speaker sessions) and resources like our resource database and private mailing list/listserv, etc. Dues are just $50 per family and are used to support Peanuts programming for members and for the Greater Petworth community. All parents are welcomed to join Peanuts, though in general Peanuts programming is designed for Parents of young children up to approximately five to seven (5-7) years of age.

Petworth Peanuts membership runs from October 1st through September 30th of the following year (ie, Oct 1, 2025 through Sept 30, 2026), mirroring the federal fiscal year. Membership can be purchased at any time throughout the year, but must be renewed each September/October (new dues packages become available as early as Aug/Sept, with discounts for early renewal!). Why!? A few reasons:

1. The reliable bump in revenue from membership renewals allows us to better plan for the Fall event season and is a predictable source of income

2. Advertising renewals can happen at the same time every year, so there is no need to constantly pester members to pay dues throughout the year

3. Financial reporting, annual member surveys, and budgeting can happen in line with the fiscal year

4. We can more easily control access to member resources, including the WhatsApp broadcast channel, if members are in clear annual cohorts (instead of joining on a rolling basis)

We completely understand that this may be a source of frustration for members who join late in the year - but we hope the extremely accessible pricing helps justify this approach, no matter when our member families join. Plus, families can request a fee waiver at any time for any reason, just email hello@petworthpeanuts.com. In 2025-2026, we will continue our model of offering a discounted rate approximately halfway through the member year for Annual Member dues.

ABSOLUTELY! We welcome ALL parents and caregivers, not just those who live in Greater Petworth. The caveat is that most of our programming is based in and around Petworth - so some commuting may be necessary to fully participate in the Peanuts experience. That said, much of our programming can be enjoyed virtually, including the Cohort speaker sessions and the Continuing Education Speaker sessions. Members are also welcomed to plan meet ups in their own neighborhoods if fellow Peanuts are interested / live nearby.

Newborn Cohorts will start on a monthly basis and will last for approximately 3 months; the exact schedule of the individual discussion sessions and meet ups will be decided by the facilitators in coordination with the members of that Cohort. Typically, cohorts prefer to schedule meet ups in the afternoon on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but the final decision will depend on the availability and preferences of cohort members!

Weekly expert speaker sessions take place on Zoom and are typically scheduled at 11am on Thursdays. Cohort members will receive calendar invites for both in-person and remote meet ups.

Our membership year renews September 30, but July, August, and September newborn cohort members are grandfathered into the subsequent membership year. All other Newborn Cohort members (October 2024 - June 2025) will need to pay dues AFTER their cohort experience to remain active members of Peanuts for the 2025-2026 year.

Cohort fees and annual dues are designed to be accessible, and 100% of all member fees go directly to running the Peanuts organization - but cohort members can always be grandfathered in to the new member year upon request / fee waivers are always available if requested, no questions asked.

Congratulations, and welcome to Peanuts! You will receive an email approximately 1-2 weeks prior to the anticipated kick off date (list available here) with more information about the kick off, your Cohort WhatsApp group join link, etc. So if you sign up in January but aren't due until July - and you're anticipating joining an August cohort, you may not hear from us for awhile! So, sit tight and be sure to join the Expectant Peanuts WhatsApp chat (link provided in your registration confirmation email, or here) - and you're welcome at any/all Peanuts events/meet ups in the meantime!

If you have questions or are nervous you're not on the right list, you can always reach us at hello@petworthpeanuts.com!

Great question! Our Cohorts page has lots of information on Cohort topics, while our Continuing Education Speaker series includes ~2x monthly discussion sessions on topics relevant to older babies, toddlers, preschoolers and beyond. See below for a sample list of speaker/discussion topics featured in our Newborn Cohorts and Speaker Series.

You can also find a list of our amazing expert Speakers here! Note that future speakers and topics may vary depending on the interests of each cohort / the membership at large:

• Addressing challenging behaviors

• ADHD (in parents and kids)

• Baby and Me Yoga

• Baby Sign Language

• Baby sleep: what to expect after 4 months

• Baby-led weaning / nutrition in the first year

• Baby-wearing

• Breastfeeding and pumping

• DC Pre-K3 Lottery

• Dental health for toddlers

• Doula 101

• Eldercare and Supporting Aging Parents

• Exercise post-partum

• Finding Quality Childcare

• Infant Motor Development

• Infant physical / cognitive development

• Infant touch, massage, etc

• Managing two young children

• Nanny Best Practices

• Newborn sleep: 0-4 months

• Open Enrollment

• Parenting / Behavioral Issues

• Pelvic floor recovery / therapy

• Personal Style Post-partum

• Picky Eating

• Postpartum depression

• Postpartum fitness

• Postpartum mental health

• Postpartum physical health & recovery

• Postpartum Yoga/Meditation

• Potty training

• Raising a Reader

• Returning to Work

• Screen time and toddlers

• Speech Pathology // Tummy Time Strategies

• Toddler Sleep

• Traveling with Kids

• Wills & trusts / estate planning

• ....and MORE!

If there's a topic that involves newborns, babies, toddlers, and parenting - we're keen to help our members learn more about it! Send us a message at speakers@petworthpeanuts.com if you'd like to request a topic of interest!

We are thrilled to offer our members a lot of bang for their buck! Here are a few of the members-only events and initiatives we have recently featured:

• Monthly all-Peanuts happy hours (families welcomed) - plus monthly Dads-only meet ups as well as Moms-only meet ups, etc

• Mom's and Dad's nights out: monthly meet ups for both moms and dads! Fun activities have included comedy clubs, boat rentals on the Potomac, wine buses in Virginia, craft nights, flower arranging, and more!

• Peanuts Family Portraits: private subsidized mini portrait sessions for Peanuts families (Fall and Spring) - $75!

• Peanuts Pacers Run Club: weekly member runs

• Peanuts at the Playground: monthly member meet-ups at area Petworth playgrounds

• 'Continuing Education' Speaker Series discussion groups on topics of interest, such as: Navigating the DCPS Pre-K Lottery; Setting Up College Funds/Investment tools; Tackling Toddler Sleep' Postpartum Mental Health; Potty Training Tips & Tricks; etc!

• Peanuts Eggstravaganza Easter Egg Hunt & Spring Celebration (April)

• Mother's Day Brunch (May) - traditionally hosted at Little Coco's private party roof space

• Galentine's Day - annual mom celebration of Valentine's Day

• Peanuts Family Field Day - annual early Summer event for Peanuts families with live music, giveaways, yard games, free ice cream and more

• Mamas of Color meet ups

• Members-only resources like the Speaker Series recordings/materials, summer camp database, party venue database, 35+ special interest WhatsApp groups, low cost equipment rental (need a SlumberPod?!), etc

• And so much more!

All of our member events are detailed in the Member Event Portal, which both cohort and annual sustaining members can access.

We're always looking for new ideas and exciting perks and activities to offer our members - let us know if you have any suggestions! We also need volunteers to help make these amazing events possible. Just contact us at hello@petworthpeanuts.com

Petworth Peanuts is dedicated to ensuring that our organization and programs are financially accessible to all families; as such, our membership fees are just $50-75 per family, and we are happy to offer a fee waiver, no questions asked.

We are also committed to building an environment in which all Peanuts members feel they belong, regardless of age, gender identity, caregiver status, nationality, race, disability, socio-economic status, veteran status, religion, sexual orientation, language, and/or other qualities and characteristics that make our Peanuts members so unique. We seek to embrace and grow our diversity - and think carefully about our various roles in this rapidly growing and changing Petworth community, while promoting the distinct experiences, perspectives, and contributions of each Peanuts member.

Peanuts will absolutely not tolerate racism, bigotry, violent/aggressive or dehumanizing speech, harmful stereotypes, statements of dismissal/inferiority, cursing, calls for exclusion or segregation, and/or any form of bullying. Our member and Cohort environments are safe, welcoming, and respectful as we non-judgmentally support every caregiver in navigating their parenthood experiences.

If you are interested in helping us grow our support of caregivers in the Peanuts and wider Petworth communities, consider joining our new Committee on Community, Equity and Belonging. For more information, email us at hello@petworthpeanuts,com.

Peanuts is dedicated to fiscal responsibility and full financial transparency. Our Peanuts Board has established financial management structures and processes that guarantee the appropriate use of all revenue, including grants, donations and member fees. Our amazing treasurer works closely with the Board and accountant to prepare/oversee detailed event and operations budgets, and to reconcile expenditures. Financial reports are presented and expenditure authorizations require multiple signatories at various thresholds. We take our financial management very seriously, even though our total operating budget is actually rather small.

To answer your question, member fees and dues are usually budgeted to cover the following:

• event costs not otherwise included in grants/sponsorships

• website hosting fees/domain costs

• 501c3 reporting expenses

• Community service initiatives, like food for volunteers at the Mother's Day Market

• Cohort expenses, like small stipends for meet ups, and

• member perks and benefits, like Peanuts Family Field Day entertainment, etc.

Note that the Peanuts Board and Committee members all donate their time on a 100% volunteer basis.

Can I get a waiver for the Cohort fee / annual dues?

We want Peanuts membership to be attainable for anyone and everyone interested in joining. If you'd like to request a fee waiver, just email hello@petworthpeanuts.com.

Yes, all members will need to pay annual dues each year to remain active in the organization, which includes access to members-only events, resources, and the mailing list. This includes members who were previously in cohorts as well as our many wonderful members who never participated in cohorts and/or joined after their child or children were beyond the newborn stage. Members who choose not to pay the dues will become inactive - but we hope you agree that the annual fee is an awesome deal! Dues will be collected each September/October and will help us to sustain our programming and increase our service contributions to the Greater Petworth community.

If you have questions about dues, and/or would like to request a fee waiver, please don't hesitate to contact hello@petworthpeanuts.com.

Congrats on your new baby! You would just need to pay cohort upgrade fee (the balance of the cohort fee) to join the Cohort after paying your annual dues. Go to the Join Page of the website and select the "cohort upgrade" option to complete cohort enrollment. When completing the form, you will select the expected cohort start date (usually the month or two following baby's arrival), and that will put you on our roster for that cohort.