The nonprofit screening name you trusted is now a line item on a public company’s balance sheet.
Sterling Volunteers pioneered the portable volunteer profile. But in late 2024 its parent was acquired for $2.2 billion — and a mission built for nonprofits now answers to Wall Street. Here’s an honest, independent alternative.
For years, Sterling Volunteers (originally launched as Verified Volunteers) was the go-to name for nonprofits that wanted a portable, volunteer-owned background check. The product is genuinely good, and we won’t pretend otherwise.
But the ownership story matters. On October 31, 2024, First Advantage — a publicly traded screening giant — closed its acquisition of Sterling Check Corp. for roughly $2.2 billion. Sterling Volunteers is now one product line inside a conglomerate whose first obligation is to its shareholders, not to your food bank, your league, or your ministry.
VolunteerBadge is the deliberate opposite: independent, built for nonprofits, and priced for the organizations that actually do the work.
What Sterling Volunteers does well
- Portable, volunteer-owned profile that can be shared across multiple organizations
- Ongoing criminal and sex-offender monitoring on enrolled volunteers
- Deep experience across disaster relief, education, healthcare, faith, sports, and youth development
- Recognized brand that many national nonprofit networks already use
Where VolunteerBadge pulls ahead
The mission is now owned by the market
A nonprofit-first product inside a publicly traded conglomerate is, eventually, optimized for margin. Pricing pressure rarely moves in the volunteer’s favor after an acquisition of this size.
Identity isn’t actually verified
Like most legacy screeners, the search runs on a name, date of birth, and SSN — it does not confirm the living person submitting the form is who they claim to be. A borrowed clean identity passes.
Premium, sales-gated pricing
Sterling doesn’t publish a per-check price; it’s quoted through sales, and figures commonly cited land in the $19–$39 range. Either way, for a 60-volunteer league that’s the difference between hundreds of dollars and the cost of a few pizzas.
| Capability | VolunteerBadge | Sterling Volunteers |
|---|---|---|
| Price per criminal check | $5 | $19–$39 |
| Monthly fees / minimums | None | Program & package fees common |
| Biometric identity verification | ID + live selfie + SSN-trace triangulation | |
| Portable volunteer profile | ||
| Ongoing monitoring | On roadmap | |
| AI-assisted FCRA adverse-action workflow | Varies | |
| Independent (not owned by a public conglomerate) | ||
| Self-serve — no sales call to get pricing | Often quote-based | |
| Verifies reportable records (all FCRA CRAs) | ||
| Free address history check | Free, always | |
| Free volunteer application templates |
We verify the human, not just the paperwork.
Sterling Volunteers searches a name, DOB and SSN — but it never confirms that the human on the other side of the screen is that person. VolunteerBadge does. Every applicant captures a live biometric selfie, matches it against a government photo ID, and we triangulate that identity against the SSN trace and address history behind the check. We’re the only online volunteer screening platform that ties a verified, living identity to every single application.
Live biometric selfie
A real liveness capture — not a photo upload — proving a live person is present.
Government photo ID match
The selfie is matched face-to-face against their official ID document.
SSN-trace triangulation
Identity is cross-checked against the SSN trace and address history behind the check.
Why it matters: a name-, DOB- and SSN-only search can be passed with a borrowed clean identity. Tying a verified, living identity to the application is how you stop someone from screening as somebody else.
Everything you need — no add-ons, no surprises.
Free address-history check
An address-history lookup is included free with every application — no add-on fee.
Free volunteer application templates
Ready-to-use, sector-specific application templates at no extra cost.
Built-in FCRA workflow
Digital consent, disclosures, and automated pre-adverse & adverse-action notices with a full audit trail.
Money-back guarantee
If we can't confirm a record belongs to your applicant, we refund the check.
“It never sat right with me to watch nonprofits get charged enterprise prices to screen the very volunteers who keep their missions alive. Our margins are honestly razor thin — and we’re completely at peace with that.”
Matt Angerer · Co-Founder, VolunteerBadge
Read why we priced it this way — the full storyThe questions behind the headline
Is VolunteerBadge really FCRA-compliant like Sterling?
Yes. VolunteerBadge is operated by ScreenForge Labs, LLC, a licensed Consumer Reporting Agency, with a built-in FCRA adverse-action workflow. The compliance bar is the same — the price and the identity verification are not.
Sterling offers a portable profile. Does VolunteerBadge?
Yes. A cleared volunteer carries a VolunteerBadge profile they can share with any organization that uses the platform — without re-paying for a brand-new check each time.
What does $5 actually include?
A national criminal database search with sex-offender registry, address-history verification, identity verification, human review of any record, and FCRA-compliant delivery. No monthly fee, no minimum.
An online volunteer background check for every kind of organization
Wherever you serve, VolunteerBadge is the affordable volunteer background check service that switches organizations off Sterling Volunteers — a $5 volunteer background check with verified identity and built-in FCRA compliance for nonprofits.
Church volunteer background checks
Children’s ministry, youth groups, and missions teams — run a church volunteer background check that verifies identity before anyone serves.
Youth sports volunteer background checks
Coaches, team parents, and league officials. A youth sports volunteer background check at $5 keeps every season covered without blowing the budget.
School volunteer background checks
Classroom helpers, chaperones, and PTA volunteers. Meet school volunteer background check requirements with FCRA-compliant reports.
Background checks for nonprofits
From food banks to disaster relief, VolunteerBadge is the affordable volunteer background check service built for nonprofits of every size.
Compare other volunteer background check services
See how VolunteerBadge stacks up against the rest.
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Checkr
$5 vs $29.99+
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GoodHire
$5 vs $29.99–$89.99
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NCSI
$5 vs Quote / package
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National Crime Search
$5 vs $13.95–$27.95
Make the switch from Sterling Volunteers — for $5 / check
Create a free account, invite a volunteer, and run a fully FCRA-compliant, identity-verified check for $5. No contract. No monthly fee. No catch.