Most fundraisers ask everyone for the same thing and hope it lands. An Adopt A Square board — the dollar board, the $1–$100 board, “fill the grid” — puts a hundred different asks on one page and lets each supporter pick the one that fits. Square #4 is $4; square #96 is $96. Someone grabs their kid’s jersey number, someone else takes the row nobody wanted, and the grid fills in.
The number that makes it work: 1 + 2 + 3 + … + 100 = $5,050. That total is knowable before you print a thing, so you can design the board around the goal instead of the other way round. Here is how to run one, what the platform handles, and a calculator to size it.
A hundred asks, one page
Every giving level is on the board
The $2 square and the $100 square sit side by side, so nobody has to guess what an appropriate amount is. Supporters pick the number that fits their budget, and no one has to say no.
The total is known before you start
A full 100-square board on the $1–$100 ladder raises exactly $5,050. You can size the board and the ladder to the number you actually need, instead of hoping a drive gets there.
100% goes to your program
Nothing is drawn and nothing is paid back out, so there are no prizes to buy, no inventory, and no raffle-license question. Every dollar collected funds the cause.
Pick the board that hits your number
A sold-out board is the sum of its ladder — so size and step are really goal-setting controls.
How much can your board raise?
Slide in the board size, the ladder, and how full it gets. Everything updates live.
Half your money is in the top twenty squares
On a $1–$100 board, squares #81 through #100 are worth $1,810 — more than a third of the whole thing — and squares #1 through #50 are worth $1,275 all together. The cheap end sells itself in the first few days, which feels like momentum and then stalls, because what is left is the expensive half.
Plan for that from the start. Line up two or three local businesses or committed families for the top squares before you launch, and name them on the board when they come in — a visible $100 square gives everyone else permission to go bigger. Then work the rest by name rather than by group email.
What the platform runs for you
No poster board, no highlighter, no “is #42 still open?” texts.
Four steps to a filled board
Size the board to your goal
Pick how many squares and where the ladder starts and steps. The calculator above works backwards from the number you need — 100 squares at $1–$100 is $5,050.
Seed a few squares
Adopt a handful yourself, or assign them to people who already gave cash. A board that is visibly moving is a far easier ask than an empty grid.
Share the picture, not just the link
Post the board itself. The grid does the explaining — people can see exactly what is left and what it costs.
Work the top of the board
The cheap squares vanish in days. Ask for the $80s and $90s by name; those are the ones that need a personal conversation, and they are half your total.
Which fundraiser fits your group?
All three ask for money without a game attached; pick by shape. A Calendar “Choose A Date” drive gives every seller their own calendar and charges the value of each date — best when you have a roster of sellers all running the same drive. A 300 Club sells identically-priced numbered tickets and draws prize winners every month, which suits a year-long program raffle. Adopt A Square is one shared board with a price on every square, sized to whatever total you need. Want a game attached instead? Run Football Squares or a Pick’Em and add the Fundraising module.
Adopt A Square, answered
Start your Adopt A Square board free
Set the size and the ladder, share one link, and watch the grid fill in — you keep every dollar your community gives.
Start free →