What's new
Product updates
New features, improvements, and fixes — what we've shipped to make volunteer screening faster and safer.
- New
The Sign-In Table: Episode 1 is live
Our podcast is out. Episode 1 is Brandi Pillow of braveONE, on pairing kids who have Type 1 Diabetes with mentors who live with it too. New episodes drop every other Friday at noon ET on YouTube, with Apple Podcasts and Spotify as the feeds go live, and every episode lives on the guest's Impact Story page too. Being a guest is free and takes about 45 minutes; we're booking into 2027. Apply at volunteerbadge.com/podcast/guest, and read support.volunteerbadge.com/podcast-guest for how it works.
- Improved
Podcast guests' photos on their Impact Stories
When a guest on our podcast The Sign-In Table sends us a headshot, it now appears beside their pull quote on their Impact Story page as well as on their episode card. Episodes play on the Impact Story page, thesignintable.com and volunteerbadge.com/podcast from noon Eastern on their drop date. Read support.volunteerbadge.com/impact-stories for details.
- New
Free Academy courses and LinkedIn tips for new signups and applicants
Three days after a nonprofit leader signs up, we now send one email about the participation certificates approved volunteers can add to LinkedIn and the free courses on VolunteerBadge Academy. Volunteers get one email about an hour after they submit an application, pointing them to free Academy courses they can take and add to LinkedIn while the organization reviews it, whether or not they have a VolunteerBadge account. It is never sent to applicants whose date of birth shows they are under 18, nobody gets it twice, and every copy has an unsubscribe link. Read support.volunteerbadge.com/volunteer-portal for details.
- Improved
The Sign-In Table: release dates and guest photos
Episode 1 of our podcast The Sign-In Table, with Brandi Pillow of braveONE, drops Friday, September 25. Episode 2, with Catherine Stephenson of IROSA Cares, drops Friday, October 9, and new episodes follow every other Friday. Episode cards on thesignintable.com, volunteerbadge.com/podcast and Impact Story pages now show each drop date and, when a guest sends one, their photo. Read support.volunteerbadge.com/podcast-guest for how being a guest works.
- New
The Sign-In Table has its own website
Our podcast The Sign-In Table now has its own home at thesignintable.com (signintable.com takes you there too). It lists every episode and links to the guest survey, Impact Stories and the monthly Impact Report on volunteerbadge.com. Read support.volunteerbadge.com/podcast-guest for how being a guest works.
- Improved
Impact Story pages now link to more stories, podcast episodes and resources
Impact Story pages now use the same three-column layout as our blog. The left column has ways to get started with VolunteerBadge, get your own Impact Story page, or be a guest on our podcast The Sign-In Table. The right column links to Sign-In Table episodes, more Impact Stories, new blog posts and screening resources. On phones and tablets these links appear below the story. If your organization is a podcast guest, your page also shows your episode number. Read support.volunteerbadge.com/impact-stories for details.
- Improved
Impact Story pages can now show your real numbers, photos and podcast episode
When you share real material with us, your Impact Story page can now show it: a band of key figures, a pull quote, how your program works, what screening looks like for you, your episode of our podcast The Sign-In Table, a photo gallery, the ways people can help, and buttons to donate or volunteer. We use only the figures and quotes you gave us and only photos you approve, and we check the updated page with you first. Pages without this material look the same as before. Read support.volunteerbadge.com/impact-stories for details.
- New
The Sign-In Table, our new podcast
Our co-founder Matt Angerer is launching The Sign-In Table, an informal, audio-first podcast where nonprofit leaders talk about their mission, why they started, the impact they are making and how others can help. Episodes come out every other week on YouTube and at volunteerbadge.com/podcast. We are inviting organizations that use VolunteerBadge to be guests; being a guest is free and takes about 45 minutes. Put your organization forward at volunteerbadge.com/podcast/guest, and read support.volunteerbadge.com/podcast-guest for how it works.
- New
Add your volunteering and course certificates to LinkedIn
Volunteers and learners can now add their VolunteerBadge certificates to LinkedIn. After an organization approves you, Share my certificate in your volunteer portal (and the Show your volunteering email) has Add to LinkedIn, which sends LinkedIn's Licenses & Certifications form the name Volunteer — your organization's name, the nonprofit as the issuer and a link to your public certificate page. VolunteerBadge Academy certificates have the same button on the course-completion screen, in My Learning, on the verification page and in the certificate email. You check the details, fill in anything missing and save the entry in LinkedIn; no LinkedIn sign-in to VolunteerBadge is needed. The public certificate page shows only your name, the organization, the issue date and the certificate ID, never screening status, hours or a report, and you can turn public sharing off at any time. Read support.volunteerbadge.com/volunteer-portal for details.
- New
Organization networks for umbrella groups
Network Owners can now self-serve Add member organization or invite an existing organization from the Network overview. A new member org starts with 0 credits and no Stripe customer; the creator is the direct child Owner and an optional admin is invited as Admin only. Existing orgs join after the child Owner accepts a 7-day request that names the network leaders and requires the same permissible purpose acknowledgement. VolunteerBadge can also attach organizations through the platform-admin path without moving their volunteers, checks, direct memberships, Stripe customer, or credits. Attaching immediately makes network MFA effective for the member organization’s entire direct team; anyone without a verified MFA factor is held at Settings → Security until enrolled. Verified network Owners and Admins land on the Network overview and can open Network Reports: six privacy-safe operations views with URL-backed organization, date, people-search, comparison, and tab filters; shared summary cards and charts; sortable server-paginated tables; and secure Open-in-member actions. All-time totals and rows remain all-time while charts show the trailing 365 days. Each tab can Export filtered CSV with exactly those filters and sort; Executive overview can Export report pack (six CSVs plus filters.json and README). Files expire after 7 days. Adverse reasons, CRA results, SSNs, and report files are never included. Member-organization admins remain scoped to their own organization, and every member keeps a separate credit balance. Read support.volunteerbadge.com/organization-networks for details.
- Improved
Verification ID on volunteer profiles and the roster
When a volunteer has an issued VolunteerBadge, their Verification ID (VB-XXXX-XX) now appears under their name on the volunteer profile. Click it to copy — useful when a volunteer cannot get back into volunteerbadge.com/badge and needs the ID for your own sign-up process.
- Improved
Application invites easier to find (and we stop emailing bounced addresses)
Volunteer application invites now come from VolunteerBadge at invites@volunteerbadge.com. Campus filters may still send first-contact mail to junk — check there, or copy the apply link / send a text. If an address bounces, Pending Invites shows Email bounced and we stop nudging that inbox.
- Improved
Clearer help: full report vs privacy-safe summary
A new support article explains the two volunteer-profile PDFs: the full password-protectable report (with personal details) for your compliance file, and the brief summary with identifiers stripped for everyday record-keeping. VolunteerBadge still will not email a consumer report. Read it at support.volunteerbadge.com/download-report-pdfs.
- Improved
Names & aliases on instant-check SSN Trace cards
Direct (instant) background-check reports now list names and aliases from the SSN trace — including maiden names and last-name changes that share the subject’s first name and date of birth. This list is on the SSN Trace card only; volunteer profiles and downloaded PDFs are unchanged.
- Improved
Accessibility commitment & clearer keyboard focus
We published an Accessibility Statement (volunteerbadge.com/accessibility) committing VolunteerBadge to WCAG 2.2 Level AA, and shipped a site-wide, always-visible keyboard-focus indicator so people navigating without a mouse can always see where they are. Reduced-motion preferences are honored throughout. Spot a barrier? Email support@screenforgelabs.com — accessibility is ongoing work for us.
- Improved
A clearer dashboard: Recruit, Manage, Engage, and more
The left-hand menu is now organized by the job you're doing — Recruit, Manage, Screen & Protect, Engage, Impact & Funding, Credits & Billing, and Learn & Help — instead of one long list and a separate "Free Perks" bucket. Same tools, easier to find: Messages, Broadcast, and Reply Assistant (formerly AI Replies) live under Engage; Hours and Compliance Roster under Manage; Waivers and Policies under Screen & Protect. Collapsed groups still show badge counts for new volunteers and unread messages. The in-app product tour, dashboard search, and support articles are updated to match.
- Improved
CRA review SLA: up to 3 business days
When a background check finds possible criminal records, our CRA team now reviews every high-confidence hit by hand before release — there is no timed auto-release. Reviews typically complete within 3 business days, and the volunteer profile shows that SLA while you wait.
- New
Billing built for high volume: receipts, statements & spend controls
The Billing page is now a full spend-management hub. Every purchase has a professional, printable receipt (with your logo and our business details); export the full history to CSV or download all receipts as one PDF. Generate a period Statement (PDF) for any date range, tag purchases with a PO number / cost center / memo (flows onto receipts, CSV, and statements), and see a 12-month spend chart. Add dedicated billing contacts, schedule monthly or quarterly statements to be emailed automatically, and set a monthly budget alert. Find it all on Settings-adjacent Billing & Credits.
- New
Screening without a U.S. SSN (opt-in)
Organizations serving foreign nationals currently in the U.S. can now enable Settings → Screening → “Allow screening without a U.S. SSN.” Applicants and direct checks can opt in — same $5 pricing, U.S. criminal/sex-offender/watchlist records only, with no SSN trace or SSN-derived address history. Possible hits always go to human CRA review. See the new support article “Screening without a U.S. SSN.”
- New
Automated character references — free
Turn on Settings → Screening → “Automated character references,” and every reference your applicant lists is automatically texted a private link to confirm their identity with a free biometric facial scan, answer a few honest character questions, and (optionally) record a short video vouching for them. The verified reference, their answers, and the video land right on the volunteer’s profile — no more phone tag. It’s free, and a character-reference tool kept separate from the background check. Prefer to just ask? Tell Victor “turn on automated character references.”
- Improved
Re-screen admin alerts & check timestamps
Org admins now get in-app and email notifications when a volunteer signs re-screen authorization and when a re-screen check completes (honors Settings → Notifications). Volunteer profiles and PDF exports show the exact date and time of the last completed check.
- Improved
Quarterly re-screening by default
New organizations now default to re-screening volunteers every 3 months with automatic re-run turned on. When a check is due, VolunteerBadge sends a short FCRA authorization link — volunteers confirm their address and sign, then the check runs. Adjust the interval or turn auto re-run off anytime under Settings → Screening.
- New
Collect verified immunization records — free
You can now ask volunteers to share a verified SMART Health Card (a signed, QR-code vaccine record) during their application. Turn it on under Settings → Health. It’s optional for the volunteer, verified with the issuer, shown on their profile — and kept completely separate from the background check. A value-added benefit, not a consumer report, at no extra cost.
- New
Carry your immunization record with you
Volunteers can add one SMART Health Card to their VolunteerBadge account on their badge page and reuse it across organizations — add once, share whenever an organization asks.
- Improved
Add your headshot to volunteer invites
Upload a personal headshot under Settings → Account, and it appears on the invite emails you send so they feel personal, not automated. Controlled by a toggle under Settings → Screening (on by default). Your photo also replaces your initials in the dashboard.
- New
Trust Center
A transparent look at exactly what our criminal search covers and how we review every high-confidence record for accuracy under the FCRA — our full source coverage, review process, and honest answers to the questions boards and counsel ask. Explore it at volunteerbadge.com/trust.
- New
Verify yourself for free — and earn a trust badge
Confirm your own identity with a quick, free ID check (government ID + a live selfie) and show a verified trust badge next to your name when you invite volunteers — extra reassurance for the people you screen. Find it under Settings → Verify identity.
- Improved
One shareable link for your whole group
Share a single application link — or its QR code — and every volunteer can open it to submit their own application. It keeps working for everyone until it expires or you revoke it, so one link covers your entire team.
- New
Connect VolunteerBadge to Claude
Run FCRA-compliant background checks right from Claude — Desktop, web, or Code. One-click connect, consent-first by default, with all the same guardrails built in.
- New
Help Center launched
A full support site at support.volunteerbadge.com, with step-by-step guides for every part of the platform and a searchable knowledge base.
- New
Policy Center
Generate board-ready nonprofit policies — background check, conflict of interest, whistleblower, and more — branded with your logo, free, right inside the app.
- Improved
Sharper, more accurate screening
Identity verification and middle-name matching now strengthen every check, cutting common-name false matches before a report ever reaches you.
- New
Free background-check tools
A growing library of free generators, calculators, and templates for nonprofit leaders — no paid account required — at volunteerbadge.com/tools.