Your volunteer portal at volunteerbadge.com/badge is home base for your whole volunteer life. Sign in with your email (we send a one-time code — no password) and everything is in one place, on desktop, tablet, or phone. Occasionally we'll ask a quick one-question feedback survey in the portal — answering (or dismissing) it means we won't ask again for months. And after an organization approves your application, we may send a one-time email asking for a quick 0–10 rating.
What's in your portal
- Your badge: status, verification ID, expiration, $5 self-renewal (or quarterly auto-renew), and a shareable badge link + QR any organization can verify — they see status only, never your report.
- Where you serve: every organization you're connected with, with your status and verified hours at each.
- Log hours: submit hours to any connected organization right from the portal — they go to that org's leaders for approval and count once verified (organizations approve under Dashboard → Hours).
- Certificates: download a Certificate of Appreciation anytime, or a Certificate of Service showing your verified hour total — branded by the organization, great for job applications, school requirements, and Dollars-for-Doers programs.
- Secure messaging: message the leaders of any organization you're applying to or serving with, right from the portal — from the moment you connect through your whole time volunteering. They see it on their dashboard (and you get an email when they reply). No sharing phone numbers.
- Nearby & next: open roles in your state, nonprofits and churches close to you, your applications and saved roles — plus Victor, your personal volunteer advisor, who learns the causes you love and matches you with places to serve.
- Your public profile: personalize your shared badge page — add a headshot, list the causes you love, and record a 30-second intro video right in the page (click Record and your camera opens; recording stops automatically, and you review the take before saving). If you completed biometric ID verification, your headshot is pre-filled from your ID photo automatically — keep it, or click Replace to use a different photo. Each is off until you switch on its “show on my public badge page” toggle, so nothing appears publicly until you choose to show it. You can also claim a vanity link (volunteerbadge.com/v/your-name, first come first served) and switch the portal between light and dark mode from the header.
- Your report, your rights: once a screening is complete, a “My report” button appears next to that organization — your own background-check report, free to download anytime. If anything on it looks inaccurate or incomplete, dispute it at screenforgelabs.com/disputes — we reinvestigate free of charge, generally within 30 days.
- Getting invited by an organization: when a non-profit views your public badge page, they can click Invite to bring you into their program without making you re-apply — your application details and identity verification carry straight over. You'll get an email to authorize their background check in one tap (each organization needs its own authorization; the badge itself is never a substitute for their check). If that organization uses automated character references or SMART Health Cards, you'll be prompted for those next.
- Extras: your SMART Health Card wallet and your invite-a-friend link (each friend who earns a badge = a free renewal for you).
Getting connected to an organization
You appear as “connected” to an organization once it screens you or accepts your application. Secure messaging is available throughout — you can message an organization while your application is in review and after you're approved, and reply any time its leaders reach out.