Frequently Asked Questions

What is PMC’s mission?

The Petaluma Mothers Club is an entirely volunteer-run social club for parents and caregivers of kids ages five and younger. We are a 501(c)(7) non-profit which is “organized for pleasure, recreation, and other nonprofitable purposes” with the central goal to “provide benefits to members.” Therefore, our primary mission is to provide opportunities for our members to socialize and form friendships, connection, and community. While we do participate in service projects and volunteer work in our community, this is not PMC’s central mission.

Who makes up the PMC leadership?

PMC’s board includes an executive team (President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Vice Presidents), as well as additional members with specific roles and responsibilities. You can read the bios of our current board members here: https://petalumamothersclub.org/Leadership. We are all member volunteers which means we have young kids (ages five and younger) and are juggling kids, family, work, home and frequent illness in addition to our PMC responsibilities. We have limited bandwidth and resources and therefore often have to turn down requests from the community in order to prioritize our club’s mission (see above).

Will PMC promote my business/organization/event?

PMC is made up of over 350 families in the Petaluma area, so we get a lot of requests to share various businesses, organizations, and events with our members. However, we do not have the bandwidth or resources to vet these requests, so we have had to set clear boundaries on how we are able to help:

  • Paid Ads: if you would like to pay for advertising with PMC, please see the information listed on our website at https://petalumamothersclub.org/ads and email ads@petalumamothersclub.org for more information.

  • Member Discounts: if you would like to offer a discount to PMC members, please contact webmaster@petalumamothersclub.org. 

  • Community Calendar: if you are offering an event that might appeal to families with young children and this event does not conflict with any PMC events, we may be able to put it on our Community Calendar on our website so that members can learn about it: https://petalumamothersclub.org/events. To request your event be added to the Community Calendar, please email events@petalumamothersclub.org.

  • Silent Auction/Raffle Donations: PMC often accepts donations for raffles and silent auctions held at our large events (Fall Carnival and Spring Tea). To inquire, email events@petalumamothersclub.org. 

  • Partner with PMC on an Event: PMC offers events that fall into the following main categories: 1) Kids Field Trips (farm, museum, park, Fall Carnival, etc.) 2) Parent Fitness (fitness class, yoga, etc.) 3) Parent Education (CPR training, parenting tips, estate planning, etc.) 4) Parent Social Events (Mom’s Night Out, Dad’s Night Out, paint night, Spring Tea, etc.) If you own a restaurant, bar, event venue, winery, farm, or other business that could host an event, please reach out! These events must meet our goal of providing social opportunities for our members and should not have the sole purpose of selling products to our members. Email events@petalumamothersclub.org for more information.

  • Social Media: At this time we are not promoting any non-PMC events/organizations on our Facebook business page or Instagram Stories unless we are holding a PMC-run event at a specific business/location.

  • Email: We do not send advertising emails to our members, with the exception of paid ads in our monthly newsletter.

  • Private Facebook Groups: PMC has several private Facebook groups for members, organized by child’s birth year and various interests. We do not have one Facebook group to reach all of our members. At this time we as a club do not officially promote non-PMC events/businesses in these groups, though individual members are allowed to share posts if it might appeal to members (for example, a member might share that their daycare has openings or that the library is holding a story hour, as this adds value and social opportunities for our members).

  • Member-Owned Businesses: If you are a current member of PMC, you can also promote your business in the following ways:

    • PMC buy/sell/trade/give/borrow Facebook group: at the beginning of the month the admin pins a self-promotion post where you can comment about your business/product.
    • PMC Member Owned Businesses Resource Guide: email resources@petalumamothersclub.org to request your business be added to this resource guide that is available to members.

Will PMC sponsor my fundraiser?

We do not offer financial sponsorship for fundraisers, as we are a non-profit social club and our bylaws require that the money we bring in be spent on social events/benefits for our members.

Will PMC members volunteer for my event or non-profit?

PMC is run entirely by our member volunteers, and we depend on them to make our social events happen. Therefore, we must prioritize filling our own volunteer needs before those of outside organizations, in order to be in line with our club’s mission. We will occasionally offer volunteer opportunities for our members in partnership with local non-profit organizations, but this is at the discretion of our Service Project Coordinator. If you would like to request we put a call out to our members to volunteer at your non-profit event, please contact serviceprojects@petalumamothersclub.org. 

Does PMC have any resources to help me find a nanny or daycare?

PMC does not officially vet or endorse any specific babysitters, nannies, or daycares. But here are some of the resources our members often use to find nannies and babysitters in Petaluma:

Can PMC help me choose a kindergarten for my child?

Here are some resources to help you choose the right kindergarten for your child:

  • Here is a PMC blog post from fall 2022 that discusses the process for choosing and applying to public elementary schools in Petaluma: https://petalumamothersclub.org/Blog/12995790 

  • Petaluma Mothers Club members have access to our Resource Guides, which includes a detailed list of public schools in town (this can be accessed through the “Members Only” section of the PMC website.

  • Members also often ask questions like this in their private PMC Facebook groups (organized by the year your child was born).

  • Another good resource for asking questions about schools in Petaluma is the private Facebook group Petaluma Hive Sourcing On Schools (https://www.facebook.com/groups/PetalumaHiveSourcingonSchools/) (~510 members). This group is not affiliated with PMC. It does contain some school staff, so people may be somewhat brief in their public posts about schools and often share more details via direct message.

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