My name is Jacquie Neilson. Alongside a 30 year career at HSBC, I spent 25 years working in the charity sector, establishing and running Rain Rescue, an animal rescue centre I built from just one woman helping just one dog, into an organisation rescuing over 400 cats and dogs a year and in my final year I generated an annual income of £880k, with a £650k 3 year support grant from Battersea, Dogs and Cats Home and £120k from Pets Foundation to build and operate an on-site vet room.

We leased a 2 acre site, built kennels for 15 dogs and a cattery to house 25 cats as well as running the vet room after funding ended. Caring for an average of 40 animals a day. we employed up to 14 staff and ran three charity shops.

I know what it feels like to be responsible for the mission and accountable for the money at the same time. I know the pressure of doing more with less and I know what it feels like to spend good money on services that don't deliver useful, sustainable tools.

Whilst I left the charity in 2024, I never left the sector and I continued helping other groups to uncover income opportunities. People are so busy doing the day-to-day heavy work of their cause, they are often blind to what's really happening with their funds.

That's why I set up Fundraising Fixer, to provide realistic, practical support so that hard working groups can make every penny count and deliver more for less.