Ellie Dhar
Founder, PEP HQ
School mom, volunteer, and former first-time gala chair
The story behind PEP HQ
It started with a gray binder and a prayer.
PEP HQ was born from the very real experience of trying to lead a major school event without the plans, tools, or context needed to succeed.
From one kindergarten mom
I raised my hand to help. Then I realized how much had been left behind.
When my son started kindergarten, I wanted to become part of his school community. So when the school needed someone to chair its annual gala, I raised my hand.
What I received was a large gray binder.
Inside were old programs from a few previous galas, scattered notes, and bits of information that made sense only if you already knew the story behind them. There was no clear timeline, no complete budget, no volunteer plan, no record of what had worked, and no explanation of how all the pieces were supposed to come together.
“I had a binder, a few old programs, and a prayer.”
The work behind the event
The hardest part was not the gala. It was finding the people and information needed to run it.
The school had talented parents who wanted to help. The problem was that there was no shared way to understand the volunteer community or coordinate the work.
01
Who can do what?
I did not know which parents had experience with sponsorships, auctions, design, marketing, procurement, technology, or event production.
02
Who is actually available?
Availability lived in conversations, text messages, email threads, and personal knowledge. There was no reliable way to know who could help or when.
03
Who owns each part?
Roles and responsibilities were not clearly documented. Too much depended on finding the right person and hoping they remembered what happened last year.
04
Where does the work live?
Information was spread across at least five different systems. We had to piece together email, spreadsheets, sign-up tools, payment platforms, shared files, and personal messages just to create something that resembled a working event system.
Building the system we needed
If the system did not exist, we had to create one.
We started pulling the work into a clearer structure. We rebuilt the timeline, organized the budget, clarified ownership, created sponsorship and auction processes, tracked the details, and brought the right volunteers into the right roles.
Most importantly, we stopped treating parent knowledge as something that should live only in someone’s head.
The result was the school’s strongest gala in five years.
- 154
- attendees
- $25,220
- in sponsorships
- More than $70,000
- raised
- Strongest gala
- in five years
The gala succeeded because our community had incredible people. What they needed was a clearer way to work together.
Results reflect the 2026 Transfiguration Black & Gold Gala.
The idea that followed
What if every school could begin with more than a binder?
After the gala, one thing was clear. This was not just an event-planning problem. It was a school community problem.
Schools depend on administrators, parent organizations, event chairs, volunteers, and families to create the moments that bring people together. Yet the work is often spread across disconnected tools, and every new leader is forced to reconstruct what came before.
PEP HQ was created to change that.
It brings plans, volunteers, communication, fundraising, and results into one shared system. Schools can understand who is ready to help, give people clear ownership, run events with less scrambling, and preserve what they learn for the next team.
“PEP HQ is the platform I wish I had been handed with that gray binder.”
Built for parent-powered schools
A better starting point for every event and every person who steps up to lead.
PEP HQ helps school communities turn willing people into organized teams, scattered information into repeatable plans, and successful events into traditions that become stronger every year.
Make participation easier
Give families clear ways to help that match their time, interests, and skills.
Give every task an owner
Help teams understand what needs to happen, who is responsible, and what comes next.
Keep the work connected
Bring plans, volunteer needs, communication, fundraising, and results into one place.
Preserve what works
Carry timelines, files, outcomes, and lessons forward so the next leader does not start over.
Your school does not need another gray binder
Give your next event a stronger starting point.
See how PEP HQ can help your school bring its people, plans, communication, and fundraising together.