❖ Heads up! This article is intended for Amplify Site Managers.
Volunteer Background Checks with First Advantage
If your organization requires background checks for volunteers, our integration with First Advantage makes it easy to manage this process before volunteers respond to your Opportunities.
Important Note
If you already have a First Advantage account, you’ll need to create a new one via the Get Connected XTDForce integration to use it with your site. Existing accounts can’t be connected directly.
Why Require Background Checks?
Background checks are often needed for volunteers working with sensitive groups or information, such as:
Healthcare or administrative roles involving private information
Youth or school programs
Roles requiring clean driving records
They help ensure volunteer and organizational safety by verifying clean driving records, no felony convictions, and that they are not registered offenders in relevant databases.
Special Pricing through Get Connected
Basic: $16.95
Advanced: $26.79
Complete: $39.58
Setting Up First Advantage Integration
Go to Settings > Integrations.
Click Create your First Advantage account to start the setup on the XTDForce platform.
Follow the prompts to complete your user profile, business info, contacts, payment method, and finalize with your business signature.
If you see a “Contact Support to Get Started” button, you might have Sterling Volunteers enabled, which conflicts with First Advantage.
Creating a Background Check Qualification
Go to Volunteerism > Qualifications.
Click Add New Qualification.
Select Background Check as the type.
Choose a package:
Basic: SSN Verification, National Criminal File PLUS, DOJ National Sex Offender
Advanced: Basic + Single County Criminal Search
Complete: Advanced + 7-Year County Criminal Search
Give it a title and write instructions or a question.
Decide whether to auto-approve checks with a “Clear” status.
Set permissions to determine when volunteers must complete the check (e.g., before viewing or responding to opportunities).
Add helpful content if desired (e.g., videos).
Click Create Qualification.
Qualification Permissions
Permission | Description |
Not Required for Opportunity Access | Volunteer can access Opportunities before completing the background check |
Required to View Any Opportunities | Volunteer must complete the background check to view any Opportunities on the site |
Required to Respond to Any Opportunities | Volunteer can view Opportunities but cannot respond until the background check is complete |
Required to View Selected Opportunities | Volunteer must complete the background check to view specific assigned Opportunities |
Required to Respond to Selected Opportunities | Volunteer must complete the background check to respond to specific assigned Opportunities |
Required to Use Site | Volunteer must complete the background check and be qualified to use the entire site |
Qualification Statuses
Status | What does it mean? |
Qualified | The volunteer is qualified and can respond to the Opportunity. |
Pending | The background check is still under review. |
Re-Submit | The volunteer needs to re-complete the background check. |
Expired | The background check has expired and must be re-completed. |
Not Qualified | The volunteer didn't pass the background check. |
Inactive | The background check qualification is no longer active. |
Background Check Statuses
Click any background check status to review it on the First Advantage site.
Status | What does it mean? |
Background: Eligible | The volunteer passed their background check |
Background: Fail | The volunteer did not pass their background check |
Background: Decisional | Issues were found that require further review |
Background: In Progress | The background check is currently underway |
Background: Pending | The background check has not started yet |
How to Review & Email Volunteers
There are a few options for reviewing and contacting volunteers about their background check status, including:
Reviewing Pending Background Checks
Review pending checks at Volunteerism > Qualifications > Approval tab.
Filtering for Pending Background Checks
Go to Volunteerism > Users.
Click the User Filter.
Select Volunteers > Qualification > is pending for > [Background Check Qualification].
Click Submit.
Emailing Users with Pending Background Checks
Go to Volunteerism > Qualifications > Approval.
Check the boxes by the users you wish to email.
Click Email Users to send reminders or updates.
Override a Pending Background Check
You can update a volunteer’s qualification status manually (e.g., to allow them to respond) without changing the actual background check status.
Go to Volunteerism > Qualifications > Approval.
Use the dropdown under the Status column to select a new status.