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How-to guide · Playbook

The football squares fundraiser (pick-a-square)

Sell 100 squares on a game everyone is watching, pay part of it back as prizes, and keep the rest for the team. Here is how to price it, how to split it, and how to run the whole thing online.

Start free →About football squares
Free plan · you keep 100% · Youth teams, booster clubs, schools & nonprofits · 6 min read

A pick-a-square fundraiser — buy-a-square, squares fundraiser, football pool fundraiser — is football squares run for a cause. Supporters buy squares on a 10×10 grid, the numbers are drawn when the grid locks, and the square matching the score at the end of each quarter wins a prize. Whatever does not go back out as prizes goes to your team.

It works for any big game: the Super Bowl, a rivalry, a bowl or playoff game, even the World Series. The board below shows what different prices raise, and the football squares payout calculator works out every quarter for your own numbers.

Why it works

The easiest ask a team can make

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Everyone already knows the game

Nobody needs the rules explained: buy a square, get two numbers when the grid locks, and win if the score lines up. That familiarity is what makes it the easiest ask a team can make.

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The total is set before you sell

100 squares at $20 is a $2,000 board. Decide how much goes to prizes and you know exactly what the program keeps when it sells out.

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The prize sells the square

A supporter who would never write a $20 check will happily buy a $20 square with a real chance at a $200 quarter. The prize is the reason the money moves.

The math

What a sold-out board raises

100 squares. The price sets the pot; the split sets what your program keeps.

BoardTakes inPaid as prizesYour program keeps
$10 a square$1,000$500 (50%)$500
$20 a square$2,000$1,000 (50%)$1,000
$25 a square$2,500$1,000 (40%)$1,500
$50 a square$5,000$2,500 (50%)$2,500
$100 a square$10,000$4,000 (40%)$6,000

Want more than one board can raise? Series & Playoff Squares sells one square for every game of a series or season, and the NFL season squares fundraiser runs a square through all 18 weeks.

Run it online

What the platform runs for you

No poster board, no envelope of cash, no working out the winner at midnight.

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One link, every phone
Supporters open the board, tap the squares they want and see what they owe. No paper grid passed around the stands, no “is 4-7 taken?” texts.
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Numbers drawn for you
Digits stay hidden while squares sell, then draw at random when the grid locks — or on a schedule you set — so nobody can say the numbers were picked.
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Who has paid, at a glance
Players pay your program directly by Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, Zelle, check or cash, and the board tracks who has paid. Forward a Venmo or PayPal receipt and it marks the square paid by itself.
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Winners from the real score
Link the board to the game and winners highlight from the live score, quarter by quarter. Nobody has to stay up to work out who won.
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A goal meter
Turn on fundraising and the board shows dollars raised against your goal, plus what the program keeps from every square.
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Seller links & a leaderboard
On Pro Commissioner each player gets their own link, so sales are credited to the kid who made them, with live standings to keep the team selling.
Run it this week

Four steps to a filled board

1

Pick the game and the price

A big game sells itself — the Super Bowl, a rivalry, a bowl or a World Series. Set the price per square from what your supporters will pay without thinking: $10 to $25 for a youth team, $50 to $100 for a booster club with business sponsors.

2

Decide the split, and publish it

Choose how much goes to prizes and how it pays across the game, and put it on the board before you sell a square. A pool that announces payouts after the numbers are drawn invites an argument at settlement.

3

Give every player a link

Ten players who each sell ten squares fill the board. Seller links make that a race instead of a chore.

4

Lock, draw, and let it run

The grid locks at kickoff, the numbers draw, and the winners appear as the score comes in. Pay the winners, thank the buyers, and post the total.

Other ways to raise it

Which squares fundraiser fits your group?

A one-game board is the quickest to sell. For more from the same supporters, Series & Playoff Squares carries one square through every game of a playoff run or a season. If you would rather nobody has to explain a game, an Adopt A Square board puts a different price on every square with no drawing and no prizes, so every dollar goes to the cause — and a calendar fundraiser gives each seller their own calendar to fill. Running it for fun at the office instead? See Super Bowl squares online.

FAQ

Squares fundraisers, answered

What is a pick-a-square fundraiser?
It is a football squares pool run to raise money. Supporters buy squares on a 10×10 grid — 100 squares in all — and when the grid locks each row and column gets a random digit from 0 to 9. At the end of each quarter, the square where the two teams’ last score digits meet wins a prize. Part of the money goes back out as prizes and the rest goes to your team or cause. It is also called a buy-a-square fundraiser, a squares fundraiser, a football pool fundraiser or Super Bowl squares.
How much does a football squares fundraiser raise?
A sold-out board raises the price per square times 100, minus whatever you pay out in prizes. At $20 a square with half going to prizes, the board takes in $2,000, pays $1,000 in prizes and raises $1,000. The table above shows other prices and splits.
How much should go to prizes?
For a fundraiser, 40% to 60% is typical. It still feels generous to the buyer and leaves real money for the cause. A common payout is 20/20/20/40 across the four quarters, so the final score keeps everyone watching.
How do we raise more than one board can?
Run more than one game. Series & Playoff Squares lets a supporter buy one square that is good for every game of a series or a whole season, and Season Squares sells a square for every week of the NFL season. Both raise far more than a one-game board from the same supporters.
Can we run it online?
Yes, and it is simpler than paper. You share one link; supporters claim and pay from their phones; the numbers draw themselves and the winners highlight from the live score. There is nothing to download.
What happens if the board does not sell out?
You decide before you start. Unsold squares can stay with the program (if one wins, the prize stays with the cause), or the prizes can scale with how many squares sold, so the payout never exceeds what came in.
Is it legal? Do we need a license?
A squares pool involves prizes and chance, so it is charitable gaming in most places and rules vary by state. Many states allow it for nonprofits, schools and youth sports with a simple registration; some cap prizes. Check your state’s charitable gaming rules before you sell. (We are software, not lawyers.)
Does ChooseASquare take a cut?
No. Supporters pay your program directly and you keep everything you raise. You can run a one-game board on the free plan, which pays the final score; paid plans add quarter, halftime and reverse-score payouts, seller links and reports.

Start your squares fundraiser free

Pick the game, set the price and the split, and share one link — the numbers and the winners run themselves, and you keep every dollar you raise.

Start free →
A one-game board is free and pays the final score. Quarter payouts, seller links and leaderboards come with Pro Commissioner. See pricing