Sterling Integration

Enabling Sterling Volunteers Integration 

IMPORTANT In order to use this feature, you will need to sign up for an account with Sterling Volunteers. This will give you the ability to manage volunteer background checks in Volunteer Impact. When you sign up, you will be able to select the various packages you’d like to use and the result types associated with them. 

Currently, “Sterling Volunteers” is only available in the USA. 

Once you have signed up with Sterling Volunteers, they will initiate integration with Better Impact for you.  Sterling Volunteers will provide us with the information needed to enable integration on our end. 

For enterprises, you can let us know whether or not “Organizations Can Manage Sterling Volunteers Checks”. 

Configure Background Check Alerts 

1. For Organizations, go to: Configuration, then click on “Alert Settings” found in the sidebar under Organization Settings
   • For Enterprises, go to: Configuration, then click on “Alert Settings” found in the sidebar under Enterprise Settings 

2. In the “Background Check Alerts” section, select the desired options:
   • Check the box “Only included Accepted Volunteers in the expired / expiring background check lists and alerts.”, if desired 
   • Set the “Number of days to look ahead for expiring background checks 

Managing Sterling Volunteers Background Checks 

Prevent Administrative Access to Background Checks 

1. To restrict access to menu options for background checks, go to People, then click on “Limited Admin Roles” found in the sidebar under Administrators, to create or edit a Limited Admin Role. You can permit or deny any of these options:
   • “Searching for volunteers by background check (see “Search” section) 
   • “Manage Background Checks” and “View Background Checks” (see “User >> Background Checks” section) 

2. Click the [Save] button when you are done creating or editing a Limited Admin Role 

Review the Status of Background Checks 

Organization Account 

To review the status of current background checks, you can: 

• Click on the “Background Checks to Review” link on your Administrative Home Page 
• Go to People, then select “Review Background Checks” found in the sidebar menu under Volunteers >> Background Checks 

Enterprise Account 

To review the status of current background checks, you can: 

• Click on the “Background Checks to Review” link on your Administrative Home Page 
• Go to People, then select “Review Background Checks” found in the sidebar menu under Background Checks 

Manage Expired / Expiring Background Checks 

Organization Account 

To review expiring and expired background checks, you can: 

• Click on either the “Expiring Background Checks” or “Expired Background Checks” link on your Administrative Home Page 
• Go to People, then select “Expiring Background Checks” or “Expired Background Checks” found in the sidebar menu under Volunteers >> Background Checks 

Enterprise Account 

To review expiring and expired background checks, you can: 

• Click on either the “Expiring Background Checks” or “Expired Background Checks” link on your Administrative Home Page 
• Go to People, then select “Expiring Background Checks” or “Expired Background Checks” found in the sidebar menu under Background Checks 

Generate Sterling Link for a Volunteer 

Note: Links can only be generated for background checks with the “submitted” status. When a check is initiated, an email is automatically generated and sent to the volunteer. This process can be used when the volunteer has not received this automated email or needs the link to be re-sent.  

1. Click the person icon at the top of the screen and type the person’s name into the Quick Search bar 

2. Click on the person’s name from the list that appears  

3. In the “Main” tab, click on the “Qualifications” sub-tab  

4. Scroll to the “Background Checks” section at the bottom 

5. Mouse over the Options icon beside the submitted background check  

6. Click on “Email Link to Volunteer” 

7. Insert the link into the body of the email by copying and pasting the link from the box at the top of page or navigate through Insert >> Initiate Background Check Link 

8. Click on “Email Link to Volunteer” 

Reporting on Background Checks 

When running the Personal Profile Raw Data Report, you can scroll to the “Background Checks” section to export the background check information about your volunteers. 

Sterling Volunteers Background Checks in a Volunteer Profile 

IMPORTANT:
Notes on conducting the background check:
1.  If a Legal First Name is entered, this is used in place of the First Name. 
2. Only the Primary Email Address (required) is used for the submission of the background check to Sterling Volunteers. (This address is also used to send the invitation from Sterling Volunteers to the volunteer.)
3. A valid State is required 
4. A valid 5-digit ZipCode is required. 
5. The volunteer must be at least 18 years old at the time of submission. This means that there must be a value entered in the Birthday field. 

Initiate a Background Check

1. Click the person icon at the top of the screen and type the person’s name into the Quick Search bar 
2. Click on the person’s name from the list that appears 
3. In the “Main” tab, click on the “Qualifications” sub-tab 
4. Scroll to the “Background Checks” section at the bottom
   • A current list of checks will be displayed (there can be multiple)
5. Click the [Create Background Check] button

Validate a Background Check

1. Click the person icon at the top of the screen and type the person’s name into the Quick Search bar 
2. Click on the person’s name from the list that appears 
3. In the “Main” tab, click on the “Contact” sub-tab 
4. Check that the profile has the information need to send in a background check
5. Click the [Validate profile for background check] button

Note: Only administrators with sufficient permission will be able to validate background checks.

Search for Volunteers by Background Check 

1. Go to any option that requires a search (i.e. Communicate >> Send Email; People >> Search, etc.) 

2. Module and Status, Communication and Group Filters select status(es) and option(s) to include 

3. Click the [Add Search Criteria] button 

4. Search Type: Select “Background Check” from the dropdown list 

5. Select the Match Type (The options displayed will depend on what type of background checks you have setup with Sterling Volunteers) 

6. Click the [Add] button to add additional options to your search, or click the [Add and Go] button to run your search 

Using Sterling Volunteers with Activities 

Use Background Checks in Activities and Activity Templates 

You can specify that a background check is required for an Activity (or Activity Template) in the “Qualifications” tab of the Activity. If your organization has more than one background check type set up with Sterling Volunteers, the “Background Check Type” will be displayed along with the options. Please select the desired type from the options listed. 

Volunteers will need to have the status of “Passed” in the background type selected to qualify for the Activity. 

You can also use the Bulk Activity Updates feature to: 

• Add a Background check requirement to multiple activities 
• Remove the background check requirement from multiple activities 

Assign a Volunteer to an Activity / Shift 

When assigning a volunteer to an activity or shift, you’ll be able to see why a volunteer is (or is not) qualified for the activity if a background check applies by clicking on the “X” or “checkmark” beside the activity name in the “Assign” tab of the volunteer’s profile. 

Public Page / Opportunities List 

If a background check is required for an Activity, “Background Check Required” will be displayed in the list of qualifications required. 

This will be shown to the volunteer in their “Opportunities” tab when they click on an activity. It will also be shown on your public activity page to prospective volunteers.