Screening

What tools and criteria should you use to identify the best applicants for volunteer work, and when to turn someone away? Some background checks are required by law. Know what you're required to do and what you need to do.

Related Topics: Interviewing | Legal Issues
Charities Find Ways to Screen Volunteers Despite Insufficient Funds, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Deciding if Your Animal Shelter is Ready for Volunteers, Betsy McFarland, The Humane Society of the United States, 2006
Guidelines for Using Questions in Conversation, Barbara B. Varenhorst, Ph.D, Search Institute, 2003
Massive Headaches?, Joe Willmore, Executive Update
Methods of Screening Potential Volunteers, Monika Penner
Screening and CRB Checks from Volunteering England
Screening and Selecting Volunteers: Powerful Ambassadors or...
Unskilled vs. Differently Skilled: Maximize Volunteer Differences, Susan J. Ellis, Energize Hot Topic, 2000
The Volunteer Application Form, Susan J. Ellis and Katherine Noyes Campbell, pp. 5-6, Energize, Inc, 2003

The following articles on this topic were published in our journal, e-Volunteerism. Previews are free; full articles are available to paid subscribers. You may also have 48-hour access to the journal and its full archive for US$10.00.

Group Interviewing Techniques: Hitting the Bull's-Eye Every Time
Interviewing for Success: How to Conduct Effective Volunteer Interviews
Screening Volunteers
The Contradictions of Imposing 'Checks' on Volunteers: Questions We Need to Answer
The Volunteer's Fantasies: A Challenge to the Volunteer Manager
Using Personality Profiles: A Game Changer for Volunteer-Involving Organizations
Volunteering Through the Eyes and Ears of a Dedicated Dog Volunteer
Volunteers' Most Common Accidents - and How to Avoid Them
Walking a Fine Line: Are We Over-formalising Volunteering?
"Tools and resources to better match people and organizations, improve the safety and quality of programs in communities,and reduce risks and liability", prepared by Volunteer Canada , 2012, pp. 104
SportsSafe (BC) , pp. 8

Researched and produced by Verified Volunteers, offers essential insights on the practices, challenges and concerns of organizations relying on volunteers, with screening tips to help you compare, measure and improve your organization’s volunteer screening program.

, 2016, pp. 32
CASA "Working with Volunteers"

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) provides universal information on many volunteer management topics, particularly on screening and training. 

EnVision Tips

Tips for interviewing potential employees or volunteers from the Community Services Council of Newfoundland and Labrador

First Advantage

Resource center of free information on conducting background checks on volunteers (from a company selling screening services).

Interviewing Volunteers

10 page booklet from Voluntary Action-Leeds (UK)

MENTOR: Components of Volunteer Screening

Detailed description of the interviewing and screening process, including reference and background checks.

Mentoring Partnership Resources

Excellent list of resources for any mentoring program from the Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern PA. Includes materials on recruiting, screening and training volunteer mentors, many of which can be used in any type of volunteer effort.

Nonprofit Risk Management Center

Major source of information and publications on all aspects of risk and liability for nonprofit organizations in the U.S. (much is relevant in other countries, too).  Volunteer risk management is one of their featured areas: https://www.nonprofitrisk.org/areas-of-expertise/volunteer-management/.

Strategy for Interviewing Volunteers

Sample questions and other suggestions (keep scrolling through the pages) from Literacy Partners of Manitoba

Verified Volunteers

Free information center on how to screen volunteer applicants, with reports, white papers, case studies, and how-to checklists for volunteer resources managers, provided by Verified Volunteers, a company that provides background screening services to organizations. Also have a blog.

Volunteer Interviewing Scenarios

Written by Steve McCurley

Volunteer Management FAQs

Site maintained by Carter MacNamara. Scroll to sections on Screening Volunteersand Selecting ("Hiring") Volunteers

Volunteer Screening Blog

This blog, on the site of a screening service, discusses a variety of issues relating to background checks and interviewing volunteers, using real-life situations.

What Is Screening?

Excellent overview of the rationale for and steps of effective volunteer screening from Volunteer Canada. Includes  The Screening Handbook and "Screening in Faith" PDF for faith communities.

Print and e-Books in Our Store

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Best of All

A compendium of the best techniques for leading volunteer engagement, proven to work in a myriad of settings.

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Beyond Police Checks

Definitive guide for screening volunteers and employees, explaining why and how to assure everyone's protection.

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A Conversation with a Purpose

Practical advice, tools, and techniques to conduct prospective volunteer interviews effectively - something every leader of volunteers must do all the time.

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New

The LAST Virtual Volunteering Guidebook

Understand the concept and practices of virtual volunteering and integrate online service successfully into your overall volunteer involvement strategy.

Training Module 3: Interviewing Volunteers

Designed to examine the need for interviewing and screening volunteers and to share the basic process and skills necessary to do it effectively.

Volunteer Seeks Gig (or Even Superheroes Get the Blues)

A Tongue-in-Cheek Look at the Trials of Volunteering (animated 3:50 min. video):  from tobijohnson.typepad.com, 2011 -- discusson starter on volunteer interviewing

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