Adopt A Square
One grid. Every giving level.
A giving grid with a price on every square: #1 is $1, #100 is $100. Supporters adopt the squares they can afford, and a sold-out 100-square board raises $5,050.
Great for:Booster clubsClassrooms & PTAsBand, choir & theater programsAny campaign with a number to hit
How it runs
Adopt A Square, start to finish.
01
Set the board
Choose how many squares (default 100) and what each one costs — the $1–$100 ladder is ready to go.
02
Share one link
Supporters see the whole board, pick the squares they want, and pay you directly.
03
Watch it fill
Every adopted square lights up with the giver’s name and the goal meter climbs.
Everything you can customise
Features, options & plans.
Tune every detail to fit your group — and see exactly what is on each plan.
＋ Add-on = a paid add-on, included on Pro Commissioner. A Contest Pass unlocks the Pro tools on one contest — it does not include separately-sold modules like Fundraising, or anything account-wide such as extra admins. See full pricing →
One contest, one payment
Running just one Adopt A Square board? Skip the subscription.
A Contest Pass unlocks every Pro Commissioner tool on this one contest — payment reconciliation, your own branding, automatic reminders, auto-scoring and advanced reports. Paid once, no renewal, and it lasts as long as the contest does. Priced by how many boards you need.
Buy any number of boards — the rate you reach applies to all of them. Four boards at the $7.99 rate is $31.96.
The complete guide
How a Adopt A Square works.
An adopt-a-square fundraiser puts a price on every square of a grid — $1 for the first, $100 for the hundredth — and asks supporters to adopt the ones they can afford. It raises a known total, needs no prizes or inventory, and works any time of year. Here’s how it works and how to run one.
What is an adopt-a-square fundraiser?
Also called a “dollar board,” “$1–$100 board,” “fill the grid” or “sponsor a square” fundraiser, it’s the simplest campaign there is: draw a grid, number the squares, and charge each square its own number. Someone adopts square #5 for $5; someone else takes #100 for $100. When the board is full you’ve raised the sum of every square — for a 100-square board, exactly $5,050. Nobody wins anything, which is what makes it easy: no prizes to buy, no drawing to run, no event to host.
How the math works
The sold-out total is the sum of the ladder, so you can design the board around your goal:
| Board | Squares run | A full board raises |
|---|---|---|
| 100 squares, $1 ladder | $1 → $100 | $5,050 |
| 50 squares, $1 ladder | $1 → $50 | $1,275 |
| 100 squares, $5 ladder ($5 step) | $5 → $500 | $25,250 |
| 200 squares, $1 ladder | $1 → $200 | $20,100 |
| 100 squares, flat $25 | $25 each | $2,500 |
ChooseASquare shows this total live while you set the board up, so you can work backwards from the number you actually need.
Why it works for fundraising
- Every giving level is on the board at once — the $2 square and the $100 square sit side by side, so nobody has to ask what’s appropriate.
- The low squares go first and fast, which puts early momentum on the meter.
- A visibly half-full grid is a better ask than any reminder email: people can see exactly what’s left.
- Adopters’ names sit on their squares, so supporters get public credit and the board becomes a thank-you wall.
- No prizes, no inventory, no raffle license question — every dollar is margin for your cause.
Run your own Adopt A Square board
Set the size, set the ladder, share one link, and watch the grid fill in.
Tips for filling the board
- Launch with a handful of squares already adopted — an empty grid is a harder ask than one that’s clearly moving.
- Post the board picture, not the link, when you share: the grid itself does the explaining.
- Name the total out loud. “When this board is full we’ve raised $5,050 for new uniforms” beats “please donate”.
- Give each seller their own tracking link so parents and players get credit for what they bring in.
- When the cheap squares are gone, ask for the top row by name — the $90s squares are the ones that need a personal ask.
Adopt A Square vs. our other fundraisers
All three are game-free giving campaigns; pick by shape. Calendar Cash gives every seller their own calendar and charges the value of each date — great for a roster of sellers running the same drive. Century Club sells identically-priced numbered tickets and draws prize winners every month, which is the model for a year-long program raffle. Adopt A Square is one shared board with a price on every square, sized to whatever number you need to hit. Want a game attached instead? Run Football Squares or a Pick’Em and add the Fundraising module. For the full how-to — the ladder math, seeding the board and working the expensive squares — read the Adopt A Square playbook.
FAQ
Adopt A Square, answered.
What is an Adopt A Square fundraiser?+
A grid where every square has its own price. The classic version numbers 100 squares $1 through $100 — square #7 costs $7, square #63 costs $63 — and supporters “adopt” the squares they want. Every square adopted means the board raised exactly $5,050. There is no game, no drawing and no winners; it’s a visual giving campaign.
How much does a full board raise?+
A 100-square board on the $1–$100 ladder raises $5,050 (that’s 1 + 2 + 3 + … + 100). Change the size or the ladder and ChooseASquare shows you the sold-out total while you set it up, so you can design the board around the number you need to hit.
How is this different from Calendar Cash?+
Same idea, different shape. Calendar Cash gives each seller a calendar and supporters pay the value of the dates they pick, so it tops out around $465 a month per seller. Adopt A Square is one shared board you can size to your goal — 100 squares, 300 squares, any ladder you like.
How is this different from squares pools?+
A squares pool is a game: numbers get drawn and the score decides who wins the pot. Adopt A Square never draws numbers and never pays anyone out — 100% of what comes in goes to your cause.
Can I change the prices after people start adopting?+
Yes, and adopted squares are protected. Re-pricing only touches squares nobody has taken, so a supporter who adopted #63 for $63 always owes $63. The same rule applies to shrinking the board: ChooseASquare won’t delete a square someone already adopted.
Do supporters have to pay a fixed amount?+
No — that’s the point. They pick the squares that match what they can give: a couple of dollar squares, or the $100 square with their family’s name on it.
How do supporters pay?+
Directly to your organization by Venmo, PayPal, check or cash. ChooseASquare never holds your money and never takes a percentage of what you raise.
Is it free?+
Yes — Adopt A Square is available on the free plan. Paid plans add seller tracking and leaderboards, a countdown bar, advanced reports and custom branding.
Every Adopt A Square setting explained — board size, the price ladder (and what a sold-out board raises), hand-priced squares, the frozen-amount rule that protects adopters, goal & progress meters, sellers, and collecting the money.
Other contest types
Not quite what you wanted?
Run a Adopt A Square for your group.
Free to start, set up in minutes — and you keep every dollar.
No player fees · No percentage of the pot · Your money stays yours
You might also like
Same platform, same one link — your group just plays while CAS handles the rest.