Turn any contest into a fundraiser: the Organizer Cut, sellers with tracking links and leaderboards, the fundraising goal and progress, winner donate-back, payout reports, Venmo/PayPal receipt auto-matching, and the net-raised summary — everything you need to hit your number. Keep 100%; the platform never holds your money.
Fundraiser commissioners & organizations · 12 min read
The Fundraising module turns any ChooseASquare contest into a fundraiser — squares, Pick'Em, Survivor, Power Points, brackets, calendars and more. On top of the tools you already use to run the pool, it adds a fundraising goal, a seller system with tracking and leaderboards, winner donate-back, and a net-raised report. Calendar and Century Club contests are fundraisers by design; every other type gets fundraising as an add-on ($9.99/mo), which is included free in the Organization plan.
Two things people mix up. The Fundraising add-on unlocks the goal, sellers, storefronts and donate-back. The Organizer Cut is a separate, core payout control that routes a share of the pot to your program — it's a Pro Commissioner feature. You can use either, both, or neither.
One promise underpins all of it: ChooseASquare never holds your money and never takes a percentage of what you raise. Players pay you directly and you keep 100%. This guide covers every fundraising feature, grouped by what you're trying to do.
Turning a contest into a fundraiser
Open your contest's Fundraising tab. Calendar and Century Club are always fundraisers — no add-on needed.
Fundraiser contest
A toggle that marks the contest as a fundraiser and lets winners donate their winnings back to your program (see Winner donate-back below).
Fundraising goal ($)
Your target. It renders as a progress meter for players and on each seller's storefront as money comes in.
Fundraiser ends
An optional end date/time for the campaign.
Manage sellers & storefront
A link straight to seller setup for the org (see Sellers below).
AvailabilityPro
Fundraising is an add-on at $9.99/mo, included free in the Organization plan. Calendar and Century Club contests are fundraisers with no add-on required.
The Organizer Cut — route money to your cause
Set on the Settings tab of any entry-fee contest. The prize pot players see is always shown net of your cut.
% of poolPro
Take a percentage of the pot off the top (e.g. 20% to your program).
$ flat totalPro
Take a fixed dollar amount off the top of the pot.
$ per entryPro
Take a set amount per entry — scales automatically with turnout.
How it shows
The pot players see is already net of your cut; winners split what's left. The cut is capped at the full pool, so payouts never go negative.
AvailabilityPro
The Organizer Cut is a Pro Commissioner & Organization feature. On the Free plan the full pot pays out to winners.
Sellers — setup
Sellers are the people moving squares/entries for you — parents, players, volunteers. Manage them org-wide (across contests) or per contest.
Add by email
Add sellers by email. If they already have an account they're added instantly; if not, they're invited and automatically linked when they sign up.
CSV import
Bulk-import a list with email,name columns — a downloadable template is provided.
No-account sellers
Add a seller by name with no email (e.g. a kid). They get a tracking link only — no login required — and are still credited for every sale.
Scope
Assign each seller to all contests (current & future) or only specific ones.
Seller login & dashboard
Sellers added with an email get their own login and selling dashboard with tracking links and running totals.
AvailabilityPro
Seller tracking, personal links and leaderboards are on Pro Commissioner (and included in the Organization plan).
Seller links & attribution
Every sale is credited to a seller — automatically or by hand.
Selling Profile link
Each seller gets one storefront link (/sell/their-id) that lists every grid, pool and calendar they're selling, with their own branding.
Per-grid link
A per-grid tracking link (a board link with ?ref=seller) for a specific pool.
Automatic attribution
When a buyer uses a seller's link, the sale is credited to that seller — and a 14-day cookie keeps the credit even if they come back later without the link. The seller's custom thank-you shows on the confirmation.
Manual credit
Selling squares in person? When you assign squares on a grid, use "Credit seller" to attribute them — works for sellers with or without an account.
Per-grid seller sales
Each grid's Sellers panel shows every seller's sold and paid counts at a glance.
Seller leaderboards & prizes
Standings
Sellers ranked by amount sold / raised, with optional per-seller quotas.
Top-seller prizes (Century Club)
Reward your top sellers by finishing position with a cash amount or an item prize.
Seller storefront branding
Sellers personalize their storefront — avatar, headline, message, accent color and thank-you note — to sell in their own voice.
Fundraising goal & progress
Goal meter
Your goal renders as a progress bar for players and on seller storefronts (raised / goal), so everyone can see the push toward the number.
Dynamic potPro
On grids, the prize pool can scale with squares sold, with a guaranteed floor — a live meter shows it filling as squares sell.
Winner donate-back
The heart of a fundraiser — winners can give some or all of their winnings back to the program.
Cash out
The winner takes their full payout.
Donate all
The winner donates their entire payout to your program.
Donate (keep cost)
The winner recoups their entry cost and donates the rest.
Donate partial
The winner donates a portion and keeps the rest.
Payouts & who-owes tracking
The Payout Report lists every winner, what they're owed, how to pay them, and whether they've been paid.
Payout report
Per-winner: winnings, donate choice, payment handle + method, and a mark-paid toggle so you can track who's been paid.
Payout timing
Pay out per grid as each one finishes, or all at once at contest end.
Export
Download the payout report as CSV or a printable PDF.
Amount raised — the fundraising summary
See exactly what your program cleared. Works on every contest type, squares and season-long alike.
Net raised
Collected from sales minus cash paid out to winners. Winnings that winners donate back, plus winnings on unsold squares the club kept, all stay with your program.
Full breakdown
Collected from sales, cash paid to winners, donated back, retained on unsold squares, and net raised — shown on the contest overview and the payout report.
Receipt processing & payment matching
Reconcile who paid without chasing a spreadsheet.
Receipt auto-matchPro
Forward Venmo/PayPal payment receipts to a pay+token@ address and ChooseASquare parses them and marks the matching entry paid automatically.
Venmo CSV importPro
Upload a Venmo statement to bulk-match payments to entries.
Per-entry forwarding addresses
Each entry can have its own forwarding address for hands-off matching.
Free trial
Payment reconciliation has a one-time 24-hour free trial — any matches you make during it stay marked paid forever.
Reports & exports
Contest reportPro
A per-participant report including paid status, method, and the seller who sold each entry, with one-click CSV export.
Payout & fundraising reportsPro
Payout and fundraising totals with export — available as an add-on and included on Pro Commissioner & Organization.
Branding for your cause
Contest branding
Set your logo, banner, colors and font so the pool looks like your program, not ours.
Seller branding
Each seller adds their own avatar, headline and message to their storefront.
Remove "Powered by"Pro
Hide ChooseASquare branding on your storefront (Organization plan / add-on).
FAQ
Does ChooseASquare take a cut of what we raise?
No. The platform never holds your money and never takes a percentage. Players pay you directly and you keep 100%. The only "cut" is your own Organizer Cut, which routes money to your program — not to us.
Do sellers need an account?
No. Sellers added with an email get a login and their own dashboard, but you can also add a seller by name only — they get a tracking link and are still credited for every sale.
How are sales credited to a seller?
Automatically when a buyer uses that seller's link (a 14-day cookie keeps the credit even if they return later without it), or manually by choosing "Credit seller" when you assign squares in person.
What's the difference between the Fundraising add-on and the Organizer Cut?
The add-on unlocks the goal, sellers, storefronts and winner donate-back. The Organizer Cut is a separate Pro payout control that routes a share of the pot to your cause. Use either or both.
Do I need the add-on to run a fundraiser?
Calendar and Century Club contests are fundraisers with no add-on. Every other contest type needs the Fundraising add-on ($9.99/mo), which is included free in the Organization plan.
Can winners donate their winnings back?
Yes — each winner chooses to cash out, donate all, donate but keep their entry cost, or donate part. Donations roll straight into your net-raised total.
Ready to run yours?
Set it up in a few minutes — every option here is right there in the wizard.