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, 2002
Guidelines for Using Questions in Conversation, Barbara B. Varenhorst, Ph.D, Search Institute, 2003
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 the Engage journal. Previews and some articles are complementary; full articles are available to paid members.

Getting to Know Your Non-Volunteers: Insights from a Mixed-Methods Survey
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?

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)

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 Management FAQs

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

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

Book cover

Best of All: The Quick Reference Guide to Effective Volunteer Involvement

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

book cover image

The Virtual Volunteering Guidebook

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

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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