One large issue in particular is with sex offenders. According to Jefferson Township, NJ Police, the police are legally prohibited from granting public access to records for first-time offenders. It isn’t until a person has been charged with two or more sex crimes that the police can go public with such knowledge.

One such case involves Christopher Demott of Jefferson Township, NJ. Demott had volunteered to coach 5-6 year-old children in a township-sponsored baseball program. Thankfully the Recreation Department, who runs the program, routinely checks the backgrounds of all of their volunteers and caught Demott’s past sex-offense record. Demott had previously been convicted in 1996 for forcing a 16-year-old girl to perform oral sex on him, threatening to rape her if she refused.

The baseball team postponed their practices, as the season had not started yet, until Demott was arrested. While he has been released from custody pending a court appearance, Demott will no longer be coaching.

Don’t let sex offenders or other criminals take advantage of your organization. True Hire has a number of inexpensive packages tailored just for nonprofits and volunteer-based programs without cutting corners. We’ll make sure you get a thorough volunteer background check that you can afford. We can even set up a no-cost option where an applicant can donate the fee of the background check directly to your organization, giving you peace of mind for free.

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Read more about Christopher Demott here.

Even though volunteers aren’t monetarily compensated, it doesn’t mean they’re completely free to non-profits. Many people outside the charity sector don’t understand the effort that goes into making sure that a volunteer is properly used and looked after. It can be costly to train, manage, and retain voluteers. Considering the average volunteer provides over $20/hour worth of labor it’s important to keep them happy.

Myth #2: Volunteers are Limited

In 2011, 62.7 million American volunteered with an organization (27% of the entire population) according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. And that percentage has been steadily increasing.

Myth #3: Volunteer Retention is Impossible

The reality is that on average 2/3rd of all volunteers will volunteer again next year. While only 55% of those who volunteered for manual labor will repeat this service, nearly 76% of those who volunteer for professional services will return. Simply put, to reduce turnover, volunteers must be pleased with the environment in which they work and motivated by the tasks to which they are assigned.

Frank P. Nolan, 53, tried to skip a criminal background check for the coaching job, which would have revealed his arrest in Florida for grand-theft auto and, in Rhode Island, for obtaining money under false pretenses.

Nolan sent an e-mail, purportedly from a FBI agent saying that the prospective coach had a clean record. Next came a letter, without letterhead, asserting that it was from the FBI and that Nolan had no criminal record.

Though unpaid, Nolan still attended practices. Until he realized the school was onto him, he told the team he’d come to practices, but couldn’t work, because he had bone cancer. Nolan was at the team’s game when officers arrested him, and was charged with providing false documents to a public official. He was arraigned Saturday and was held on a warrant for failure to appear in court on a suspended license charge.

Almost exactly a year ago, Nolan was charged with defrauding another school by falsely claiming that the actress Renée Zellweger had offered a $50,000 matching grant for their scholarship drive.

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