Concerning this compendium thing, just an unrealistic proposition :
Since it seems unlikely to get an item to the mann co store to fund a lan event, what about to try to publish a kind of shitty game through the greenlight stuff ?
It doesnt even have to be good as long as it is properly hyped and explain clearly its purpose : Funding an internationnal tf2 lan with the passion of its player base.
Something like "Team Funding to xxx" where xxx is the name of the event.
Hell, maybe it would even be possible to strike a deal for an exclusive tf2 cosmetic as a pre order bonus (wink wink) ...