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.”
Started on one device, finishing on another
An application in progress is saved to the browser it was started in — so someone who begins on their phone (at an open house, say) and returns on a laptop would otherwise have no way back to it. On the first step of the application there's now “Tap here if you already started this application”: the volunteer enters the email they started with and we send a separate resume link that reopens the same application, on any device, for 7 days. Saved answers are restored only after they click that emailed resume link (not from the original invite URL alone — that keeps their identity details from loading for anyone who only has the shared apply link). This keeps them attached to yourorganization's application instead of starting over — and it's why an unfinished applicant should be nudged rather than re-invited.
Make invites personal with your headshot
Add a photo of yourself (under 3 MB) 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.”
- Text— enter a mobile number (with the volunteer's consent) and we text the apply link. Texts share your org's daily SMS allowance (20/day); email is unlimited.
- Shareable Link— click “Create Link” for a reusable
/apply/template/… URL plus a downloadable QR code and an optional PDF flyer. That posted URL does not expire.
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 (org-configurable). The Shareable Link you copy or post is /apply/template/… — that URL does not expire. Any number of people can open it (or scan the same QR). Each person starts their own application and has 30 days by default to finish (Settings → invite-expiry / shareable-link window). Ask Victor for the link anytime, or copy it from Send Application → Link.
If someone says they never got their email or text, open Applications → Pending Invites. Those people are not on your Volunteers roster until they submit. Click Nudge or Resend email to re-send the same link, or Send text on an email invite to SMS that same link (does not create a second invite). Invites come from VolunteerBadge at invites@volunteerbadge.com (not noreply@). Campus .edu filters (Proofpoint, Microsoft 365) often quarantine first-contact mail — ask the volunteer to check junk and their university quarantine digest. We sent it; we cannot promise it landed in the inbox. If the row shows Email bounced, do not resend email — Copy link or Send textinstead. Automatic reminders will not keep hitting a bounced address. Resent texts count toward your daily SMS limit; email resends are unlimited unless the address bounced. If Victor says a text or email was sent, the Pending Invites row should show a new reminder count or a phone number — if it doesn't, nothing left the building.
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 Checkbutton 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. After they submit, the confirmation screen may ask how applying went; if they say it was easy, they can optionally follow VolunteerBadge on Facebook. It's optional and not required to finish.
Identity verification is not the last step
If Require identity verification is on, the volunteer confirms their ID before they sign. Leaving that step (the ID + selfie check opens another screen on a phone) brings them back to the wizard — Verify Your Identity or Authorization & Signature — not to payment. The $5 pay step appears only after they submit the signed application. Refreshing that same browser still shows pay until they finish. If the dashboard still says Pending, they have not signed yet, even if they saw a payment button.
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.
