We know that budgets are tight and finding funds to screen your volunteers might be a challenge you are facing. Schools can help their bottom line by asking volunteers to pay for their background check. We have done research on "Volunteer Self Pay" and have found that 95% of volunteers are willing to pay for their own background check. This can go a long way in saving your school money.

In the survey we conducted we asked volunteers from school districts across the country and found, after surveying over 200 individuals, that 89% of volunteers would not approve of a school that did not run a background screen on their volunteers and 61% of volunteers are willing to donate money towards ensuring all volunteers are getting a quality background check.

VolunteerMatch also conducted a similar survey and had similar findings. There were more than 1,000 volunteers from a variety of organizations who took part in this survey. Volunteers were surveyed about their ideas on self-pay background checks. These volunteers came from states across the country, including California, Washington and Texas. The majority of volunteers surveyed worked for non-profits or government agencies, with smaller groups coming from faith-based organizations and educational institutions.

83% of volunteers agree that asking volunteers to pay for their background check is acceptable.That's a pretty high number! It's good news for nonprofits and other organizations that are looking for more ways to raise money.

You may be thinking that charging applicants for their background check will decrease the number of applications. This is not the case; 87% of volunteers indicated that they would still apply even if they had to pay for their own background check. In addition, 65% said that they would be more likely to apply if they had to pay for their background check, while only 4% said they would be less likely.

Not only does this make sense with regards to helping your organization grow and thrive in a time of limited resources, but it also makes sense with regard to your volunteers’ happiness and satisfaction with their service experience. Volunteers love the idea of paying for their background checks—it gives them an opportunity to give back by contributing financially towards a cost associated with serving others in need!

We hope that these tips and ideas can help your organization make the transition to self-pay background checks. Remember, if you are a little apprehensive about asking applicants to pay for their background checks, don't be. Your volunteers will appreciate the fact that you're doing everything possible to ensure their safety, and most importantly-- their children's safety!

By utilizing our Secure Volunteer platform your school can use rest assured knowing they are running quality background checks and managing their limited budget well. Secure Volunteer helps schools screen better by streamlining the process, allowing volunteers the option of paying for their own screen, and providing the most reliable background check available. Contact our sales team to learn more.