Briefly describe this fundraising event:
Selling engraved bricks and placing them in a walkway. People like to leave a lasting impression.

Organizing the event:
Find an area to either build or replace a walkway or courtyard. Locate a supplier of engraved bricks. Use a non profit search engine such as http://www.dmoz.com and type in engraved bricks. Several companies should come up. Some companies even have free downloadable materal. Create a hit list to whom you might sell these bricks. DO NOT FORGET THE ALUMNI. Advertise and send out mailings. Have someone willing to double check the spelling of names etc.

Capital possibilities:
Several scenerios

No up-front capital. You pay for the bricks after you recieve the money for the orders.

500 bricks sold @ $35.00 a piece yeilds approximately $10,000 in profit.
Bricks cost $13.00 each and transportation is around $500 for 500 bricks.

5000 bricks sold @ $35.00 a peice yeilds appox. $120,000 in profit.
Discounts apply when purchasing in bulk.
The alumni can make a big impact.

Degree of difficulty:
Not too difficult. You have no upfront capital, but you need to make sure of the mailings and advertizing. You could start in less than 2 weeks with no money required.