Case Study: Alliance of Therapy Dogs

Posted Thursday, September 27th, 2018 by Sterling Volunteers Staff

Alliance of Therapy Dogs, founded in 1990, is one of the largest nonprofit therapy dog organizations in the United States with over 15,000 volunteers nationwide. The organization is dedicated to ensuring all dogs have the right temperament and well being for therapy visits to hospitals, special needs centers, schools and nursing homes regardless of breed or age and have a strong relationship with their owners. Alliance of Therapy Dogs provides testing, certification, registration, support and insurance for members who volunteer with their dogs in animal-assisted activities.

Alliance of Therapy Dogs, who receives around 3,000 applications a year, was relying on public record data and self-reporting information during the volunteer review and approval process. The volunteer management team discovered that prospective volunteers weren’t always providing honest answers on their applications. The volunteer services team was looking for a reliable background screening company to help lessen the number of errors and streamline important procedures.  The organization had included background screening in their newest member handbook that was being released on January 1, 2018, so they needed to quickly find a background screening provider.

With the help of Sterling Volunteers, Alliance of Therapy Dogs transformed their background screening process to easily identify red flags and ensure that the organization engages the right volunteers to work with their therapy dogs in the field. In addition, Sterling Volunteers’ dashboard reports are instrumental for the volunteer services team to gain a holistic view of the growing number of interested volunteers and deeper insights to share with their Board of Directors.