How to Run a Football Squares Fundraiser (Without the Spreadsheet)
Squares pools are the most-shared fundraiser in America every fall. Here's how the numbers, the quarters and the payouts work — and how to run one where the score lives on the page.
A football squares board is the one fundraiser that sells itself. Pick a game, sell 100 squares, and every person who bought one watches the whole game with a reason to care about the score. Here's how it works and how to run one cleanly.
The board
Ten columns across, ten rows down: 100 squares. One team's score reads across the top, the other's down the side. Supporters buy squares before the game — $10, $20, $25 a square is typical — and their name goes on each one they own.
The numbers
This is the part people get wrong. The 0–9 digits along the top and side are not set when the board goes on sale. They're drawn at random after the board is full, on game day. Nobody knows which square is "good" until then, which is what keeps it fair and keeps every square worth buying.
On SquareFundr a football board draws its numbers automatically the morning of the game (or you can draw them from your dashboard once it's game day). They show up on the board in each team's colors, and every donor sees the same thing you do.
How winners are decided
At the end of each quarter, take the last digit of each team's score. Find that digit across the top for one team and down the side for the other. The square where they meet wins that quarter.
Example: Texans 14, Bills 10 → digits 4 and 0 → the square in the "4" column and the "0" row. Texans 21, Bills 20 → 1 and 0. Final score is a fourth winner.
Payouts
You decide these before the board goes on sale, and you say them out loud on the page. Common splits:
- Even: 25% per quarter.
- Final-heavy: 20 / 20 / 20 / 40 — the final score pays the most.
- Fundraiser-first: 50% of the pot to winners, 50% to the team. This is the one most teams use.
Money never touches SquareFundr; donations go straight to your PayPal or Square account like any other campaign, and you pay winners directly however you like.
What "live" changes
The old way: someone screenshots the board, texts it to the group, and argues about who won the third quarter. The new way: the score is on the page. SquareFundr football boards pull the live score from the game, outline the square that's in the lead right now, and list every scoring play with the square it put in front. Parents refresh it from the bleachers. Nobody needs the spreadsheet.
Compliance note
A squares pool with cash prizes is treated as a game of chance in most states, and the rules for charitable versions vary — some states allow them under the same registration as a raffle, some don't. Before you launch, check with your school's athletic director or your parent organization's treasurer. Many teams keep the prizes non-cash (donated gear, sponsor gift cards) for exactly this reason.