Commissioner setup guide

Adopt A Square — Commissioner Setup Guide

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.

Adopt A Square ($1–$100 giving grid) fundraiser commissioners · 7 min read

Adopt A Square is a giving grid: every square on the board carries its own dollar amount, and supporters “adopt” the squares they want. The default board is 100 squares priced $1 through $100 — square #7 costs $7, square #63 costs $63 — so a sold-out board raises exactly $5,050. There is no game, no numbers drawn, and no winners.

That makes it the easiest fundraiser on the platform to run and the easiest to explain: nothing pays back out as a prize, so every dollar collected goes to your program, and there is no drawing to schedule. This guide covers every setting you control — board size, the price ladder, hand-priced squares, the rule that protects people who have already adopted, the goal meter, sellers, and collecting the money.

Creating your board

One screen: how many squares, what they cost, and (optionally) a goal and an end date.

How many squares: Anywhere from 1 to 2,000; 100 by default. The grid is always 10 squares across, so a bigger board simply gets taller — 300 squares is 30 rows.
Its own number (the ladder): The classic adopt-a-square pricing and the default: square #1 costs the starting amount and each square after that adds the step. With a $1 start and a $1 step you get the familiar $1–$100 board.
Square #1 costs / Each square adds: The two numbers that define the ladder. A $5 start with a $5 step gives you $5, $10, $15 … $500 — the same shape, five times the total. The setup screen shows the sold-out total as you type, so you can work backwards from the number you need.
One flat amount: The alternative: every square the same price. Simplest to explain when you want N squares × one amount (100 × $25 = $2,500).
Fundraising goal: Leave it blank and your goal becomes a sold-out board — for a $1–$100 board, $5,050. Set your own if the campaign has a specific target.
Fundraiser ends: Optional cutoff — supporters can’t adopt squares after this time. Leave it blank to run with no end date.
Show the amount on each square: On by default: each cell prints its dollar amount, which is what makes the board self-explanatory. Turn it off to show bare square numbers and reveal the total once someone picks.
List publicly: On = the board is listed on your public org page and findable in search. Off = invite/link only.

What a sold-out board raises

The total is the sum of the ladder, so board size and step are really goal-setting controls.

100 squares, $1 ladder: Squares run $1 → $100. A full board raises $5,050. This is the classic board and the default.
50 squares, $1 ladder: Squares run $1 → $50. A full board raises $1,275 — a good size for a single team or classroom.
100 squares, $5 step: Squares run $5 → $500. A full board raises $25,250 — for a capital ask with a donor base that can carry it.
200 squares, $1 ladder: Squares run $1 → $200. A full board raises $20,100.
100 squares, flat $25: A full board raises $2,500.

Changing the board after you launch

Everything is editable from the contest console — with one rule that never bends: an adopted square’s amount is frozen.

Adopted amounts are locked: Once someone adopts square #63 at $63, that is what they owe, forever. Re-pricing the board only touches squares nobody has taken. This is enforced on the server, not just hidden in the UI, so nothing can rewrite what a supporter agreed to give.
Add more squares: Raise the square count any time and the new squares continue your pricing rule — squares #101–#150 on a $1 ladder come in at $101–$150. Useful when the board sells out faster than you expected.
Shrink the board: Lower the count and the extra squares at the end are removed — but only if they are unadopted. If square #100 is taken, the board can’t go below 100, and ChooseASquare tells you which square is blocking it rather than deleting somebody’s donation.
Re-price the unsold squares: Change the ladder (or switch to flat) and apply it. Every unadopted square takes the new amount; the adopted ones keep theirs. The console tells you how many squares will change before you commit.
Hand-set one square: Tap any unadopted square in the “Every square” list and type an amount. Handy for a sponsor who wants a specific number, or for pricing the top row higher than the ladder would. Note that a hand edit switches the board to hand-priced, so a later “apply pricing rule” will overwrite your edits — the console asks first.

How supporters adopt

One shared board: Everyone sees the same grid with each square’s amount printed on it, who has adopted what, and the goal meter. Supporters tap the squares they want.
Pick squares, pay the sum: The total is the sum of the squares picked — #7 + #50 + #100 is $157. That is the whole pricing model: people give exactly what they choose.
Payment methods: Set on the Settings tab: Venmo, PayPal, check, and/or cash instructions. Supporters pay you directly at checkout — money never routes through us and there is no platform cut.
One-tap pay link: For Venmo/PayPal the app opens a deep link with the amount prefilled, so the supporter just confirms and sends.
Adopter names on the board: Adopted squares carry the giver’s name, which turns a filling board into a public thank-you wall — and into social proof for whoever looks next.
Mark adoptions paid: Every adoption shows on the Participants and Payments tabs with the payer, the squares, the amount, and the method. Mark it paid when the money lands. The console tracks Pledged (adopted) and Paid separately so you always know what is still outstanding.

Sellers, goals & urgency

Goal meter: A live “raised so far / goal” bar on the board and on your contest overview, plus a running count of squares adopted.
Sellers & personal linksPro: Add players, parents or volunteers as sellers; each gets their own tracking link and every square adopted through it is credited to them.
Seller leaderboardPro: Live standings across sellers so you can reward whoever brings in the most.
Countdown barPro: A live countdown with your own message on the public board, for a final push before the deadline.
Announcements, polls & chat: Post updates to everyone who has adopted a square, right on the board page — “only the $80s left!” does real work.

Running & closing it out

Seed a few squares: Adopt a handful yourself (or assign them to cash givers) before you share the link. A board that is visibly moving is a much easier ask than an empty grid.
Ask for the top row by name: The low squares go first and fast. The expensive squares almost always need a personal ask — plan for that rather than waiting for them to sell themselves.
CSV export & reportsPro: Export the full adoption list with amounts and payment status for your records.
No winners — just giving: There is no drawing and nothing to pay out. When the board fills (or the deadline passes), thank your supporters and archive the contest — everything collected already went straight to your program.

FAQ

How does an Adopt A Square fundraiser work?

Every square on the board has its own price. On the default 100-square board, square #1 costs $1 and square #100 costs $100, so supporters adopt whichever squares match what they want to give. Fill the whole board and you have raised exactly $5,050.

Why $5,050?

It is the sum of 1 through 100. That is the appeal of the format: the total is known before you start, so you can size the board — or steepen the ladder — to match the number you actually need to hit.

Are there winners or prizes?

No. Adopt A Square is a pure fundraiser — no numbers are drawn and nothing pays back out, so every dollar collected goes straight to your program.

Can I change a square’s price after someone adopts it?

No, and that is deliberate. An adopted square’s amount is frozen — re-pricing only affects squares nobody has taken. The same protection blocks shrinking the board past an adopted square.

Can I make the board bigger or smaller?

Yes. Raise the count any time and new squares continue your ladder. Lowering it removes squares from the end, as long as they are unadopted.

Do all the squares have to follow the ladder?

No. You can switch the whole board to one flat amount, or hand-set any individual unadopted square — useful when a sponsor wants a specific number.

How do supporters pay, and does ChooseASquare take a cut?

They pay you directly at checkout — Venmo, PayPal, check or cash, whichever you have set up on the Settings tab. ChooseASquare never holds the money and takes no percentage.

How is this different from Calendar Cash or Century Club?

Calendar Cash gives every seller their own calendar and charges the value of each date picked, which caps a month around $465 per seller. Century Club sells identically-priced numbered tickets and draws prize winners every period. Adopt A Square is one shared board with a price on every square and no drawing at all — sized to whatever total you need.

Is it free?

Yes, Adopt A Square runs on the free plan. Paid plans add seller tracking and leaderboards, the countdown bar, advanced reports and custom branding.

Ready to run yours?

Set it up in a few minutes — every option here is right there in the wizard.

Start an Adopt A Square board →