Rodney

There are a few:

Around here, some churches and fraternal organizations have given up on having rummage sales, and instead hold one-day flea markets in their parking lots. They handle PR -- generally fliers, word-of-mouth, and an ad in the classifieds -- charge $15 or $20 a space for 30 or 40 sellers, and if they sell them out, have their money in hand before the sale even begins. And you can sell food and drinks for extra cash at the sale, as well as your own stuff. Of course you're in Calgary, and maybe outdoors isn't an option this time of year; is there a gym or hall you could get for free?

Craft fairs are good, too, especially with Christmas coming on (though you'd have to hustle). Get a hall, recruit crafters or artists (especially student artists) and sell space, publicize. With craft fairs, at least around here, you charge X amount for the space plus a cut of sales. You the organizers run a central book; when somebody wants to buy something from a crafter, they send them over to you with a sales order, you take the money and give the receipt, and they take the receipt back to the seller to get their item. At the end, you cash out to everybody minus your cut. And again, you can sell food, have a little music, make an event out of it.

Oktoberfest parties work pretty well -- beer, brats, some accordionists with attitude, and you're in business. Again, see if you can get the beer donated. You've got about two weeks to handle this.

The easy way to successful fundraising is to sell something good that you don't have to pay for. Promote yourself as a group to people who'll be willing to donate the beer, food, or whatever that you're going to sell.

The coolest fundraising gimmick I know belongs to a men's choir, who'll send out a trio for $50 bucks to serenade anybody for anything; usually it's "I love you" or "happy birthday," but other things as well.