If you run an organization in the area, you know just how important Pasco County, FL volunteer background screening is. Volunteers are the backbone of many nonprofit organizations and charities. They contribute their time and resources to help those in need, and often go above and beyond what is asked of them. However, before you allow just anyone to volunteer with your organization, it is important to screen them first. This is where volunteer background screening comes in. In this article, we will discuss what volunteer background screening is, who benefits from it, and which kinds of organizations should screen their volunteers.

You can think of a volunteer background check like a pre-employment background check. These often cover everything from credit and financial history to criminal records. This is one of the first steps a responsible business owner or non-profit organizer can take to ensure the safety of their employees and the people they serve—volunteering is no different. In fact, it is not unusual for nonprofits and other organizations to keep volunteers for as long as any business might retain its employees—or even longer!

The purpose of a background screening is to gather relevant information that may help a business or nonprofit to decide if they’d like to work with someone. This type of screening is considered a good safety measure, as it’s generally easier to hire employees than to fire them. Background checks help to eliminate the hassle of firing, rehiring, and retraining new employees after ex-employees don’t work out. This step also applies to volunteer organizations, saving them valuable time and resources for dedicated volunteer training.

At a first glance, it may seem like the only people who benefit from volunteer background screening are the nonprofits or organizations who are looking to apply their efforts; however, in truth, volunteer background screening is a safety precaution that not only helps the organizations requesting the background screening, but also protects the safety of the volunteers and the people they serve as well. Here is a breakdown of those who are protected by volunteer background screening:

1.     The organization utilizing the volunteers’ time and energy: Nobody wants to waste time and resources training someone who isn’t going to contribute or be a good match for their organization—or worse, who may be a liability in some form or another. Volunteer background screening protects the best interests of the company or nonprofit by helping them to attract and retain volunteers who are more likely to be able to meaningfully contribute to their cause. This saves time, money, energy, and resources.

2.     The volunteers themselves: By weeding out people that may have a violent criminal history or other potentially dangerous indicators on their background check, organizations can ensure their volunteers can work together to get their job done safely. Protecting your volunteers from “bad apples” not only helps with volunteer retention in the long term, but may also protect you from legal trouble down the line as well.

3.     The people the organization is meant to serve: By screening prospective volunteers to ensure they are of good character, organizations can take precautions to better serve the communities they are ultimately trying to benefit. For example, it wouldn’t do much good to gather a volunteer for a local food bank if the volunteer was causing problems for the folks in need, such as stealing from the inventory.

All in all, volunteer background screening protects not only the company or nonprofit, the volunteers themselves, and the people the organization intends to serve. This simple but crucial step can help organizations to protect the safety of their crew, improve the efficacy of their mission, and provide the community or communities they wish to serve with the best possible volunteers for the job.

Now that you know how volunteer background screenings can improve the overall safety, efficiency, and efficacy of an organization or nonprofit, you may be wondering just which kinds of organizations can benefit from screening their volunteers. Here are some of the top # organizations that benefit from screening their prospective volunteers before signing on to work with them:

·      Soup kitchens or food banks

·      Student tutors, coaching youth sports, or anything related to childcare or children’s development

·      Any clinical settings, such as blood banks, the Red Cross, or hospitals

·      Geriatric care or visitation

·      Halfway homes or addiction recovery centers

·      Animal shelters

·      Voter registration clinics

·      Public libraries

·      YMCA

·      Trail maintenance crews, public park maintenance, or environmental restoration projects

·      Anything requiring driving a company vehicle (looking at driving record)

·      Volunteer firefighting

This list is by no means complete, but it should give you an idea of the broad spectrum of organizations that can benefit from volunteer background checks. It should be noted, however, that while a background screening can provide insight into an individual’s personal records, it is illegal to discriminate based on sex, sexual orientation, race, disability status, family or marital status, health issues, or any other factors that do not have any bearing on an individual’s ability to do the job in question.

There are many ways to volunteer these days and to find ways to give back to your community. Volunteering can be one of the most rewarding experiences an individual can have. In order to protect everyone’s best interest, including the vulnerable populations your organization sets out to serve, volunteer background screening can provide valuable protection from liabilities while ensuring an organization has a positive impact on its community. These benefits are numerous and hard to quantify, and the steps for procuring a background check are simple: ask for consent beforehand, and screen volunteers indiscriminately.

Are you looking for Pasco County, FL volunteer background screening services? Contact Alpha and Omega today for a consultation and get started protecting your organization!