How to run a football squares fundraiser
Updated July 8, 2026
To run a football squares fundraiser: pick a single game or a full season, print ticket books, set a ticket price and prize structure, recruit volunteers to sell the tickets in person, draw the numbers with a method players can verify, then pay the winners as the scores come in. Prizes come from donations or the group — never out of ticket sales — so more of the money reaches your cause.
Step 1: Pick a single game or the whole season
A single-game raffle covers one game, like the Super Bowl — quick to run and easy for a one-night event. A season-long raffle uses one ticket that plays a game every week of the season, so buyers stay engaged for months and the fundraiser raises more from a single round of selling.
Step 2: Set your ticket price and prizes
A board has 100 tickets, so your gross is the ticket price times 100. Prices commonly run from $5 to $20 depending on your group and the prizes. Decide the prize for each scoring period — bigger games can pay larger prizes to draw more buyers.
Keep prizes outside ticket proceeds. Funding prizes from donations or the group — never from ticket sales — is what lets more of the ticket money reach the cause, and it keeps a charitable raffle clean.
Step 3: Print ticket books and recruit sellers
Print physical ticket books and hand them to volunteers. Charitable-raffle rules in many states require in-person sales, so this is the heart of the fundraiser: members sell books at events, after services, and around the community, recording who bought each ticket.
Step 4: Draw the numbers fairly
Only after the tickets are sold do you assign a digit from 0 to 9 to each row and column. Draw them where people can see it, or use a sealed, verifiable method so anyone can confirm afterward that no one picked a favorable ticket.
Step 5: Track scores and pay the winners
At the end of each scoring period, the last digit of each team's score picks the winning ticket. Pay that winner their prize. If a winning ticket was never sold, its prize simply rolls to the cause — there's no payout to an empty square.
How much can a football squares fundraiser raise?
A single 100-ticket board grosses the ticket price times 100 — a $10 board is $1,000. A season-long raffle raises more from the same effort, because one ticket plays every week and you only sell once. Many groups have a sponsor cover the software and prize budget, so the whole raffle is free to run.
Frequently asked questions
How much should you charge for a football squares ticket?
Commonly $5 to $20 per ticket, depending on your group and prizes. A 100-ticket board at $10 grosses $1,000; a season-long ticket that plays every week can command more because it lasts all season.
Where do the prizes come from?
From donations or the group's own funds — never out of ticket sales. Keeping prizes separate means more of the ticket money reaches the cause and keeps the charitable raffle clean.
How do you sell football squares tickets?
In person. Volunteers sell physical ticket books and record each buyer; buyers can pay by cash, check, or card at the point of sale. In-person selling also keeps the raffle within charitable-gaming law in many states.
What happens if you don't sell all 100 squares?
You can still run it. Any unsold winning ticket simply rolls its prize to the cause, so there's never a payout to an empty square.
Keep reading
- Booster club fundraising ideas that actually workProven booster club fundraising ideas — from the season-long football squares raffle to concessions and spirit nights — and how to pick ones that raise real money without burning out your volunteers.
- Football squares prize structures: how the money is splitHow to split a football squares prize fund across the game — quarter by quarter, with the final worth the most — plus season-long and marquee-game structures, with example tables.
- Are football squares legal?Whether a football squares pool is legal depends on how it's run. Here's how football squares work as a charitable raffle — a nonprofit, in-person sales, and no house cut — and why the rules vary by state.
- Season-long football squares vs one-game poolsThe difference between a one-game football squares pool and a season-long squares raffle — and why one ticket that plays every week raises more for your cause.
- Knights of Columbus football raffle: a council's guideHow a Knights of Columbus council runs a season-long football raffle — a proven fundraiser that plays every week, sells ticket books in person, and sends the proceeds to the council's charities.
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