When teachers say the same thing over and over again, it tends to put students to sleep. The same applies to fundraisers.

While trying to get some last-minute money before the school year ends, classes seem to be skipping the planning phase of the fundraising process and just keep using the same fundraisers they have done before.

The do all this in hope of getting as much money as they can before time runs out. Unfortunately, these attempts may actually be pushing students away from contributing money, and making them see the fundraisers as unattractive as they are redundant.

“They’re all just the same,” sophomore Bryan Casella said. “[Having the same fundraiser is] pointless, monotonous and useless. The classes need to change it up a little bit. At first the fundraisers are okay, but after a while they’ll just stop being as successful.”

Some students may be tired of having nothing new to choose from when it comes to fundraisers, and with good reason. Seeing the same fundraisers for four years will discourage people from contributing to the class, especially at the end, when the classes need it the most.

Junior Class President Nima Amami has a different point of view on the subject.

“When something works out really well, I think it’s wise to try it again,” Nima said.

Sophomore Class President Sarah Loebner agrees with Nima on this aspect of fundraising techniques.

“We know we can make money [repeating fundraisers],” Sarah said. “We know people will buy it.”

But according to fundraiser.com, having the same fundraisers multiple times is a common fundraising mistake. Having more diversity in fundraisers can lead up to a 25 percent increase in results.

The endless possibilities with the small fundraisers should be a breeding ground of ideas, but instead these fundraisers seem to be just repeating themselves.

Small fundraisers (including bake sales) may be utilized to try  new ideas without too much of a risk. However, these small fundraisers aren’t being taken advantage of and are waning.

In order to keep people interested in these fundraisers, a certain degree of creativity is needed, and having the same fundraiser over and over again is not creative.

“Profit is most important, but obviously, creativity is a key element of profit,” Mountain View High School Junior Class President Natalee Pei said. “The more unique and fun our fundraisers are, the more likely people will come.”

The Junior Class Council at Mountain View is currently planning a party to tie-dye shirts, charging $5 for admission, describing the party as “a quick and easy social thing.”

But ideas for fundraisers don’t spontaneously appear. In order to stop the cycle of constantly repeating the same money-making schemes, it’s important for the student body to get involved. It’s as simple as just throwing out ideas at a nearby class officer, or going to class council. Even changes to the current fundraising strategy can help.

But the task shouldn’t be thrown onto the back of the Class Council officers.

“Ideas are the problem [with repeating fundraisers],” Sarah said. “It’s hard to get [students] involved.”

It’s the responsibility of all students to also get involved and see fundraising ideas through, not just hope that money will somehow appear i the class fund.

Such a problem can be remedied with three easy steps.

The first is getting people involved: The more people that are involved, the more creative ideas are brought to the table and the less ideas that have to be reused.

Putting creativity into the fundraisers will also pay off in the long run. The more time and effort is put into planning the event, the more likely it is to attract people to contribute to the fundraiser.

Repeating the same thing over and over again can be stopped by simply remember that when people say to “reduce, reuse and recycle,” they aren’t talking about fundraisers.