What Quetzal does

Quetzal (legally 'The Quetzal Project', UK registered charity number 1141890) is a Leicester-based nonprofit founded in 1989 that provides free, trauma-informed counselling and support services to women aged 16 and over who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. Operating across Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland, the organisation serves more than 450 women annually through a portfolio that includes professional counselling (incorporating EMDR therapy and single session therapy), counsellor-led group sessions, one-to-one coaching, emotional support calls, drop-in support, and digital self-help resources. Distribution combines in-person delivery at its Braunstone headquarters (Business Box, 3 Oswin Road) and a Thurmaston location with remote delivery via telephone and Zoom, plus community-based outreach programmes in Harborough, Melton, North West Leicestershire, and Charnwood. Two specialist programmes extend the surface area further: the Breaking the Silence Initiative, which delivers culturally-sensitive engagement for South Asian communities (in partnership with Trade Sexual Health and Coalville C.A.N.), and the Crush the Hush Programme, which targets young women aged 16-24 via National Citizen Service (NCS) partnerships.

The underlying 'technology' is clinical rather than software-based: a trauma-informed methodology, BACP-accredited ethical framework, an all-female staff and volunteer team producing women-only safe spaces, and a curated Quetzal Counsellor Directory connecting survivors to independent trauma-informed private practitioners at £25-£50 per session. Core services are free at the point of use; the directory referral is a paid side-channel. The charity holds ICO Data Protection registration, BACP accreditation, and membership of The Survivors Trust umbrella body, and operates with 1-10 employees supported by a large volunteer base.

Quetzal's business model is grant-and-donation-funded. Documented revenue streams include direct donations and community fundraising events (live music fundraisers, virtual running challenges), and grants from Comic Relief (£50,000 continuation funding in 2022 for Breaking the Silence), Getting Help in Neighbourhoods / NHS (£19,756 in 2022 for Harborough Outreach), the National Lottery via Leicester & Rutland Community Foundation, Lloyds Bank Foundation, the Tampon Tax Fund (2019-2022), Charnwood Community Grants, and other local funders. Go-to-market is community-led: professional referral forms, self-referral pathways, community events, social media (@leicquetzal on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram), and earned media on Sabras Radio, BBC Asian Network, and BBC Radio Leicester. Quetzal's leadership team comprises CEO Deborah Knight (who succeeded Hollie Venn), Clinical Lead Shabnum Popat, Project Facilitator Dr Marie Lefebvre, and operational support staff.

Name

Quetzal

Legal name

The Quetzal Project

Website

https://quetzal.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Quetzal is a Leicester-based UK charity, founded in 1989, that provides free trauma-informed counselling, outreach, and advocacy to female survivors of childhood sexual abuse across Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland, serving over 450 women annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leicester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations and Fundraising: Quetzal relies on charitable donations, community fundraising events, and individual contributions to fund their free counselling services. They organize events such as live music fundraisers, virtual running challenges, and community fundraising campaigns.
2. Grant Funding: The organization receives grant funding from various sources including Comic Relief (£50,000), Getting Help in Neighbourhoods (£19,756), Charnwood Community Grants, National Lottery, Lloyds Bank Foundation, NHS, and Tampon Tax Fund.
3. Private Counselling Directory Referral: While Quetzal's core services are free, they maintain a private counsellor directory where independent trauma-informed counsellors offer paid sessions at £25-50 per session. Quetzal acts as a referral connector but is not directly involved in payment arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Quetzal delivers free, specialist trauma-informed counselling and therapeutic support services to female survivors of childhood sexual abuse across Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland. Its offering combines one-to-one professional counselling (including EMDR and single session therapy), counsellor-led group work, emotional support calls, one-to-one coaching, and regional community outreach programmes. The organisation also maintains the Quetzal Counsellor Directory connecting survivors to independent trauma-informed private practitioners and operates culturally-sensitive programmes such as the Breaking the Silence Initiative for South Asian communities and the Crush the Hush Programme for young women aged 16-24.

Product overview

Quetzal is a Leicester-based charity offering a comprehensive suite of trauma-informed support services for female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The core offering centers on professional counselling services (including EMDR therapy and single session therapy), emotional support calls, counsellor-led group sessions, and one-to-one coaching. The organization operates regional outreach programmes across Market Harborough, Melton, North West Leicestershire (including Coalville), and Charnwood, alongside the Breaking the Silence Initiative targeting South Asian communities and the Crush the Hush Programme for young people aged 16-24. Quetzal also maintains a Trainee Placement Programme for counselling students and a private Counsellor Directory connecting individuals with independent trauma-informed practitioners. Support is delivered face-to-face at Quetzal premises, via telephone, and online through platforms like Zoom.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Professional Counselling Services Free, trauma-informed one-to-one counselling tailored for female survivors of childhood sexual abuse, offered in-person at Quetzal premises in Leicester and Thurmaston, and via telephone or Zoom for those unable to attend in person. A waiting list applies due to demand, with alternative services offered more quickly.
• EMDR Therapy Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy specifically adapted for trauma recovery from childhood sexual abuse, delivered by Quetzal counsellors as a specialist option within its counselling portfolio.
• Single Session Therapy One-off therapeutic sessions providing targeted support and coping strategies for survivors of childhood sexual abuse who may not require or be ready for ongoing counselling.
• Emotional Support Calls Ongoing check-ins and guidance provided by Quetzal's skilled volunteers, delivering compassionate emotional support to survivors between or while waiting for formal counselling sessions.
• Counsellor-Led Group Sessions Facilitated group therapy sessions led by qualified counsellors that build connection and shared understanding among female survivors of childhood sexual abuse, complementing one-to-one counselling.
• One-to-One Coaching Support Individual coaching sessions providing personalised, non-clinical support to survivors of childhood sexual abuse on their healing journey, complementing therapeutic counselling.
• Drop-In Support Sessions Weekly informal drop-in sessions providing a safe, women-only space for survivors to connect with peers and access peer support without requiring a formal counselling referral.
• Quetzal Counsellor Directory A curated directory of independent, trauma-informed private counsellors specialising in support for survivors of abuse, with average session rates between £25 and £50 per session depending on the practitioner. Quetzal connects survivors with counsellors but is not directly involved in session payment arrangements.
• Trauma-Informed Welfare Advocacy Partnership Advocacy support programme delivered through partnerships to help survivors navigate welfare systems in a trauma-informed manner, addressing non-clinical barriers to recovery.
• Breaking the Silence Initiative Community-based awareness programme specifically targeting South Asian communities in Leicester about childhood sexual abuse trauma and the value of counselling, using culturally-sensitive engagement methods and translated resources in Gujarati. Funded by Tampon Tax Fund and Comic Relief.
• Crush the Hush Programme Awareness initiative targeting young women aged 16-24 affected by childhood sexual abuse, including NCS team partnerships with Leicester Education Business Company (LEBC) and community connector volunteers to drive peer-level engagement.
• Market Harborough Outreach Community-based awareness campaign and counselling outreach programme for women in Market Harborough, Lutterworth and surrounding areas, supported by the Getting Help in Neighbourhoods grant.
• Melton Outreach Outreach programme raising awareness about childhood sexual abuse trauma and the value of counselling for women in the Melton Mowbray area.
• North West Leicestershire Outreach Community outreach programme connecting with Coalville and surrounding areas to raise awareness of childhood sexual abuse trauma and provide access to Quetzal counselling services.
• Charnwood Outreach Community-based awareness and counselling outreach programme for women in the Charnwood Borough area including Loughborough.
• Trainee Placement Programme Year-long volunteer placement programme for counselling students providing hands-on experience working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse, with free supervision and specialist trauma-informed training provided by Quetzal.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered key partner, core partner, collaborative partner, key community partner and evaluation partner.

• Leicester Education Business Company (LEBC)key partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerLEBC supports the Crush The Hush Programme by leading NCS teams each year, enabling measurement of awareness increase amongst young 16-24 female survivors.
• The Survivors Trustcore partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerQuetzal is a member of The Survivors Trust, a national umbrella organisation for specialist rape and sexual abuse support services, providing access to resources, best practices, and sector representation.
• Trade Sexual Healthcollaborative partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Bhensexplaining Kitty Party initiative to raise awareness about sexual health, HIV and contraception options for South Asian women across Leicestershire. Funded by Public Health England's HIV Innovation Fund.
• Coalville C.A.N.key community partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalville Community Benefit Society partnership for North West Leicestershire Outreach, collaborating on International Women's Day events and community engagement activities.
• Living Without Abuse (LWA)collaborative partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Living Without Abuse for Denim's Day events in Loughborough to raise awareness about sexual violence and fundraise jointly for both charities.
• Ideas to Impact (Becky Nixon)evaluation partnerImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExternal evaluators for the Breaking the Silence Initiative, providing independent assessment of project effectiveness and impact.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• MOSAC: UK charity supporting non-abusing parents and carers of children who have been sexually abused. Comparable CSA-focused support mission with a narrower family-member rather than survivor-direct target audience.
• SurvivorsUK: UK charity supporting male survivors of sexual abuse. Highly comparable trauma-informed counselling and advocacy model, differing primarily in serving male rather than female survivors.
• NAPAC (National Association for People Abused in Childhood): UK charity supporting adult survivors of childhood abuse, including CSA, through helpline and signposting services. Highly comparable target population and trauma-recovery mission, though delivered nationally via remote channels.

Broad incumbents

• Women's Aid: UK national charity supporting women experiencing domestic abuse, with a federation of local services. Comparable women-focused survivor support model and local-to-national service delivery architecture.
• Samaritans: UK charity providing confidential emotional support. Comparable at the level of volunteer-driven emotional support delivery to vulnerable adults, though mission and clinical scope differ from Quetzal.
• Rape Crisis England & Wales: National federation of specialist sexual violence and abuse support services. Directly comparable as a parallel provider of trauma-informed counselling and advocacy for women survivors, operating at greater scale than Quetzal.
• The Survivors Trust: National umbrella organisation for specialist rape and sexual abuse support services in the UK; Quetzal is a member. Comparable as the coordinating body for the same niche survivor-support services Quetzal delivers locally.
• Mind: England and Wales' largest mental health charity. Comparable as a UK mental-health service provider to adults including trauma, but with a much broader scope than Quetzal's CSA specialization.
• NSPCC: UK's leading children's charity focused on child protection and abuse prevention. Comparable as a major CSA-adjacent charity operating helplines and counselling services, but national rather than hyper-local.
• Childline (NSPCC service): Free, private helpline for children and young people in the UK, including those affected by sexual abuse. Comparable as a CSA-focused listening and referral service for under-18s.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LeicQuetzal
• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=s2JRFY-DiOY&feature=youtu.be
• Facebookfacebook.com/LeicQuetzal
• Instagraminstagram.com/leicquetzal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leicquetzal

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Quetzal