For those of you struggling with writing government grants, the Office of Justice Programs has a tutorial that can make the process easier. You'll find everything you need at their Grants 101 site. Best of all, much of the information is applicable to grantwriting in general, particularly in the proposal writing section. And there's a Toolkit with sample documents and other resources, as well. So even if you're embarking on a local community or private foundation grant, it's worth perusing all the same.

Its only 9:15 am and I have already fielded two questions this morning on SANE/SART funding, so I am going to take that as a sign from the blogging gods and get a post up on finding funders.

It must seem like, at times, I'm a paid spokesperson for a couple different sites (oh, how I wish!), but the reality is I simply have a few, well-vetted tools in my arsenal to which I return over and over again for quality information. The Foundation Center is one of those. Happily, they have an on-line course (offered monthly) on finding funders, that might be useful to those of you trying to identify applicable funding sources, but unsure where to go after your initial Google search returns thousands of sites of indeterminate relevance. The next dates for the course are:

• October 14th, 1-2pm ET
• November 5th, 2-3pm ET
• December 1st, 2-3pm ET

If none of those dates work for you, or you simply need the info sooner rather than later, you can also view a recording online.

Google has created a Google for Nonprofits presentation channel on Youtube that has some great ideas for programs looking to better use the web. The introductory video explains how the different Google tools can be used for outreach, fundraising and to create efficiencies in work processes (you can find a nice overview of their different tools here). And since just about all of it is free and relatively simple to use, it could be a great way to enhance your program's reach without much expense. I personally use many of the tools outlined on the video (and gmail is one of the best things to happen to me professionally--seriously).

Particularly those of you free-standing, community-based programs (who usually have a bit more control over your own IT), I would encourage you to watch this short video and see if some of it might be applicable.

[Google for Nonprofits]

Enterprise Community Partners has a great fundraising tutorial on their site. It's comprised of 7 sections that give you a comprehensive guide to the fundraising process:

1. Getting Ready
2. The Process Starts with Identifying Prosepcts
3. Cultivation
4. Solicitation: Be Prepared
5. The Ask: Personal Solicitation
6. Preparing and Submitting a Proposal
7. Stewardship/Donor Relations

All of the segments are word docs; contained in those docs are checklists, charts, templates and other tools to help you organize and streamline your fundraising approach. And it's meant for the novice fundraiser, as well as those with more experience, so there's great how-to information provided along the way.

Vicarious/secondary trauma is one of those issues we sometimes give lip service to, but generally do a lousy job of actually addressing in forensic nursing. But for those of you looking into the eyes of team members and seeing burn out staring back at you, perhaps now is a good time to start exploring (or exploring further) the issue of secondary trauma.

Over at the forensic healthcare blog, one of the most-popular topics is secondary trauma, so I know a lot of people are struggling with the issue. And while I will continue to post new information on the subject on this site, for now, let me point you to a couple interactive tutorials here and here. And if you're seeing kids, as well, this one might be of particular interest.

Familiar with one (or all) of these? Please let us know what you thought in the comments sections below!

One of the most confounding issues for SANE program managers is funding. Many nurses, particularly, have very little experience writing grants and raising capital, so knowing where to start can feel overwhelming. Fortunately, there's the Foundation Center. Your starting off point for all things money. Because if you don't know how to do it, where to find it, or how to ask for it, the Foundation Center has you covered.

Although some things on the site have associated fees, there's a lot there that's free. Of particular value are their online courses and tutorials:

Tutorials of note:

    * Guide to Funding Research
    * Guide to Fiscal Sponsorship
    * Proposal Writing Short Course (in 7 different languages)
    * Proposal Budgeting Basics (also available in Spanish)
    * Establishing a Nonprofit Organization (also available in Spanish)

Online courses of note (require registration):

    * Introduction to Fundraising Planning
    * Getting Ready for Foundation Fundraising
    * Introduction to Corporate Giving

There's also a listing of free webinars, if you prefer, on an even wider variety of topics, including nonprofit management and tools and resources. It's worth your time to check out the site and see what's available. I've had the opportunity to take some courses from them at their Cleveland library (they have 5 brick and mortar locations), which I found incredibly helpful, and continue to use the online site as a resource.