Invite volunteers

Send an application by email or shareable link, what the volunteer sees, and automatic + one-click reminders for anyone who hasn't finished.

From your Dashboard or the Volunteers page, click “Send Application.”

Make invites personal with your headshot

Add a photo of yourself under Settings → Account → Your headshot, and it appears on the invite emails you send — so they feel like a personal invitation, not an automated message. It's controlled by Settings → Screening → “Include my headshot on volunteer invite emails” (on by default).

Pick the application template.
Choose “Who pays the $5 fee?” — Organization or Volunteer (defaults to your org setting; change the default in Settings → Screening). See Who pays.
Choose how to send it:
- Email — enter one or more addresses and click “Send Application.”
- Shareable Link — click “Create Link” for a reusable link plus a downloadable QR code and an optional PDF flyer.

Email/SMS vs. Shareable Link

Email & SMS invites are one-time — each link works only for the person it was sent to and expires 7 days after it's sent. To invite several people at once, use a Shareable Link: it's reusable, so any number of volunteers can open the same link (or scan the same QR code) and each submits their own separate application. It keeps working until it expires or you revoke it.

If someone says they never got their email or text, open Applications → Pending Invites and click Resend email or Resend text on their row — it re-sends the same secure link (no new link, no change to the expiry). Resent texts count toward your daily SMS limit; email resends are unlimited.

Automatic reminders — and a one-click Nudge

You don't have to chase people down. If an email invite is still unfinished, VolunteerBadge automatically emails the volunteer a friendly reminder every 48 hours, up to 3 reminders total, then stops. Want to reach someone sooner? Click Nudge next to any Pending volunteer — on the Volunteers list, on their profile, or under Applications → Pending Invites— to send a reminder right now. (Nudging costs nothing; it works even when you're out of credits.) A manual nudge counts as one of the 3 reminders and resets the 48-hour timer, so the system won't also auto-send on top of it. The Pending Invites screen shows how many reminders have gone out (e.g. “Reminder 2/3”). Reminders stop the instant they submit — and only apply to one-time email invites, not shareable links.

“Pending” means the volunteer hasn't finished yet

A volunteer shows as Pending until they complete and electronically sign their own application — including the background-check disclosure and FCRA authorization. This signature is required by law and must come from the volunteer personally; an organization can't enter it, pre-verify it, or bypass it on their behalf, even for board members or staff you know well. Until they finish, the Run Background Check button stays unavailable. If someone is stuck on Pending, they simply haven't finished the form yet — Nudgethem (above) or resend their invite so they can complete it. And never collect or email us a volunteer's SSN yourself — they enter it directly into their own encrypted application.

What the volunteer experiences: they open the link and complete a short, mobile-friendly application — Personal Information → (Verify Your Mobile, only if your org has that on) → Identity & Address → Additional Questions → Background Check Disclosure → (Verify Your Identity, on by default) → Authorization & Signature — then tap Submit Application. If they're the payer, they pay $5 at the end and their check starts automatically. You and the teammate who sent the invite are notified the moment the report is ready, and results stay in your organization's account. The application page follows the volunteer's saved or device light/dark theme automatically.

Verified mobile number on file (optional, off by default)

If you've turned on Settings → Screening → “Verify volunteer mobile numbers” (off by default for new organizations), each volunteer confirms a U.S. mobile numberwith a one-time text code as part of applying — so you have a reliable way to reach them and can match an inbound call or voicemail to the right person. It's a quick step (enter number → enter the texted code); landlines are declined, and standard message & data rates apply. Separately, organization leaders always verify their own mobile the same way — it's a required step in the one-time identity verification every leader completes, so we always have a way to reach the person behind the account.