You do not need to be a member of Volunteer Alberta to use the resources and funding available through the Volunteer Screening Program.
The Government of Alberta and Volunteer Alberta have partnered to deliver the Volunteer Screening Program (VSP). The goal of the VSP is to help build a thriving, resilient civil society by supporting Alberta’s nonprofit organizations in developing a deeper understanding of volunteer screening and engagement practices toward the broader goal of community safety.
With funding from the Government of Alberta, VSP provides educational opportunities, online resources, and financial support to ensure nonprofit organizations have the tools you need to develop and implement good practices* in volunteer screening and engagement, and risk management.
* We use the term “good practice” instead of “best practice” to reflect the goal of having organizations engage in practices that suit your work and serve your purposes, instead of striving for “best practices,” which may not be specific or adaptable enough to your local or cultural context to be useful. “Best practice” may imply a one-size-fits-all approach to volunteer screening practices, which we know do not really exist.
Financial support
To access financial support, nonprofit organizations must serve/work with vulnerable populations and must engage volunteers in positions of significant trust or authority with vulnerable populations.
For the purposes of the Volunteer Screening Program:
- A vulnerable person is defined as: One who, because of their age (under the age of 18 or over the age of 65), or a disability (mental or physical disability or mental illness), is in a position of dependence on others or is otherwise at greater risk than the general population of being harmed by a person in a position of trust or authority towards them.
- A position of trust or authority is defined as: A position in which a volunteer has a significant degree of authority or decision-making power over a vulnerable person and unsupervised access to a vulnerable individual. A position of trust may also include the development of a close, personal bond between the volunteer and the individual (e.g. mentor). A significant level of trust and authority must be inherent within the position, and not incidental or occasional.
Screening Education
The Volunteer Screening Program is responsible for the development of new volunteer screening resources. If your organization needs educational support for its volunteer screening work, check out our resources page for tools, templates, tip sheets, guides, and more.
We also send out a quarterly newsletter with program updates and resources regarding volunteer screening and engagement. Click Here to contact us about being added to the contact list.
If you can’t find what you need on our resources page, please feel free to reach out to screening@volunteeralberta.ab.ca to ask how else we can assist you.
Screening Development Grant
Volunteer Screening Development Grant (SDG) applications for 2024 have now closed. All applicants will hear back about their status by the end of August.
This grant supports the development of effective screening practices and processes. We provide up to $3,500 to support nonprofit organizations facing resource and capacity challenges in the area of volunteer screening. The SDG is available thanks to the generous support of the Government of Alberta.
Approved applicants for the grant must participate in foundational learning by viewing the webinar, Goals-Based Approach to Volunteer Screening: How to Nourish Relationships and Trust in Volunteer Programming. Approved applicants will be sent a link to a pre-recorded webinar, and related guides, which can also be found through our resources page. Additionally, throughout the granting period we will offer a community of practice for grant recipients to check in with Volunteer Alberta and interact with other grant recipients. At the end of the granting period (March 31, 2025) a Final Report Survey will be required to be completed.
Please review the Screening Development Grant eligibility criteria and the eligible costs the grant can be applied to for further information. A Direct Deposit form is required for submission and final approval.
Vulnerable Sector Check Fee Waiver
This fee waiver helps to alleviate costs associated with Vulnerable Sector Checks (VSC). It is available to organizations operating in current participating communities where a service fee is required: Airdrie, Camrose, Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Lacombe, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, and St. Albert.
A Volunteer Screening Program Number (VSPN) is issued to eligible organizations and provides access to a fee waiver for approved volunteer positions requiring Vulnerable Sector Checks.
Before filling out your application, please take a look at the Vulnerable Sector Check Fee Waiver eligibility criteria.
Need help filling out the applications? Check out our application guide for more info.
Have a question? Check the VSC Fee Waiver FAQs (last updated October 2022).
Are you a participating organization? Check out the Terms of Use.
If you need an example of a VSPN letter to send to police/RCMP, click here.
Starting January 2023: This video explores the Renewal process and provides an overview of changes, how it will affect your use of the program, and how to fill out the Renewal Form (Returning Applicants Form).
Looking to apply and do not have an existing VSPN?
Needing to update and/or renew an existing VSPN?