[Nuttyman54]

Back in 2005 and 2006 when Team 971 had no money, we ran a "Build-a-thon" fundraiser. Similar to a jog-a-thon or the like, each student was sent with form letters and information on how donations could be tax deductible, and asked for friends, family, companies to pitch in what they could. The goal was set for each student to try to bring in $500 (some were able to get more, some less). If you were able to get $25 each from 20 friends and neighbors, you made your goal.

Part of the donation benefit, besides the feel good and the tax deduction, was an invitation to an all-day lab open house on a Saturday of build season, so that the donors could come see the robot in production.

With about 12 students we were able to raise almost $7000 in 2005, enough to cover our season expenses and ensure the continued existence of the team.

Several teams do yearly fundraisers like Spaghetti dinners and have published whitepapers on how they run these. There's typically a very big return-on-investment for that type of fundraiser if run well, so you could check that out too.