Competition is a major theme at colleges. Think of the sports, music and academic competitions that happen at your college. You can use this competitive spirit to raise money for your cause. Create events like battle-of-the-bands where students pay a general admission price to watch five or six bands compete for the title of "Best Band on Campus." A voluntary panel of judges, which could include faculty members and students, would decide who the best band is. If you inform the participating bands that the event is to raise funds for an important cause, they may play for free or a minimal fee.
The energy on some college campuses can become even more alive at night than during the day. A contributing factor to this energy could be the bars that are located on your campus, and you can create partnerships with these bars to hold fun fundraising events. Hire a DJ or a comedian to perform at the bar and charge students a fee for attending the event. You could also ask the bar manager if she would be willing to create a special drink in honor of the event and donate some or all of those drink sales to your cause.
To raise funds, you could do also sell products to students and college staff members that they would want. Before you organize the product event, think of what your buyers need or enjoy doing and then create the event around those products. You could sell used books or school clothing or meals from your college's cafeteria(s). Hold your product event in a high-traffic area like a student life building or the lobby of a popular library. To cut down on your costs of buying the products, you could ask various departments and organizations within the college to donate items.
Students and college staff members would also enjoy being provided with a service they can use. Again, think of fun and creative services that you could provide. For a minimal fee, you could provide students with a walk home from a campus building if it's after dark, do some administrative work for one of your professors, provide back or neck massages to students or make meals for specific groups on campus, like your college's football or basketball team.