Gorham academic boosters announced this week plans to step up fundraising for classroom grants to bolster education as school officials grapple with a $1.5 million cut in state subsidy.

Grants from of the Gorham Educational Foundation could pay for a variety of unbudgeted classroom costs. Kristin Wentworth, president of the foundation, said it has sent a “broadcast e-mail” about availability of its grants to all teachers in the Gorham district. And the foundation is offering to help teachers apply for those grants, which could cover classroom supplies, technological equipment or even field trips.

“They aren’t available through the school budget and taxpayer money,” Wentworth said this week about what would be eligible for a grant.

The call for grant requests comes as school officials start work on next year’s budget. Gorham Superintendent Ted Sharp was expected to roll out his proposed budget for the Gorham School Committee Wednesday, after the American Journal deadline.

“Schools are facing an incredible budget crunch,” Janet Williams, secretary of Gorham Educational Foundation, said Monday.

Because of that, Gorham schools could lean more heavily this year on grants.

“I believe that the importance of educational foundations will continue to grow as the public sector continues to struggle financially,” Sharp, one of the founders of the Gorham Educational Foundation, said Tuesday.

The foundation will begin receiving grant applications on Monday, March 15, and the application deadline will be 5 p.m. on Friday, April 16. The foundation will have grants available for up to $1,200. Grants of less than $250 are considered throughout the year.

“I think we can make a huge difference,” Maureen Terry, a foundation board member, said this week.

The popularity of foundations is expanding as school districts cope with austere budgets. Williams said Portland has initiated one, while Falmouth’s educational foundation began in 1993 and has granted more than $600,000.

In Gorham, the educational foundation began in 2006 and has since awarded $18,000 through 22 grants in support of the arts, literacy, technology, science and civic learning in grades kindergarten through 12.

“(The Gorham Educational Foundation) has been a very positive and constructive force in providing funding for various initiatives and programs,” Sharp said. “I was very familiar with the important role that an educational foundation can have given my tenure in Falmouth when the Falmouth Educational Foundation was created.”

Last fall, Wentworth said, the foundation received five grant applications.

“We’d like to see that to be 20 or 30,” Wentworth said.

In fall grants, the foundation awarded Gorham High School teachers Chuck Peters and Aaron Landry $1,120 to purchase equipment for a microscopic digital photography project. Ray Mathieu and Matt Murray, also high school teachers, were awarded $1,200 for a composer-in-residence program to help students with music performance and composition.

The foundation’s grants are available to citizens in addition to teachers and staff. Sterling Williams, Gorham Educational Foundation treasurer and a banker at Gorham Savings Bank, said grants could be available for adult education, General Educational Development (GED), or even for home schooling.

The foundation is offering guidance with applications to other similar non-profit organizations. “We help them apply for other grants,” Wentworth, a professional grant writer, said.

The foundation also has a teacher wish-list program that pairs a teacher with a donor in the community that has needed items. The wish list is posted on the foundation’s Web site. “Its kind of community-wide recycling,” Janet Williams said.

“We can be a resource,” Sterling Williams said.

Wentworth is scheduling two grant-writing workshops this spring. One will be on March 18 at the Village School, with another on April 8 at the middle school. Wentworth is encouraging teachers to consider grants. We’re “trying to get teachers to think outside the box,” she said.

“My goal is to make sure teachers are aware we’re there for them,” said Terry, a partner and chef at PineCrest Inn in Gorham.

Even students are getting involved to help raise public awareness. The foundation is sponsoring a Spanish spelling bee on Saturday, March 27, on stage during the annual Gorham Market Place, sponsored by the Gorham Business & Civic Exchange at the Gorham campus of the University of Southern Maine.

The Gorham High School Spanish Club is lending a hand with the bee. Janet Williams, a former Gorham School Committee member, described the bee as a “fun-raiser.”

The organization’s first Frederick Robie spelling bee, named for a former Maine governor from Gorham and held last fall at the former Robie School, generated $6,000.

The fundraising events are key for the organization. Sterling Williams said the foundation doesn’t have any paid staff and operates with donated materials. Williams, husband of Janet Williams, said funds are generated from donations and from public fundraisers. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

This week, plans for a new fundraiser, Uno de Mayo, a Latin-themed event, began to come together when foundation officers met informally Monday in the School Department. The foundation board is optimistic about its newest fundraiser.

Janet Williams called it Gorham’s newest holiday, and the event will feature a band, dance instruction, food and Latin American wine tasting. It’ll be held May 1 at the former Odd Fellows Hall.

“We look for unique cultural things to bring into Gorham,” Janet Williams said.

Terry is optimistic Uno de Mayo will be well received in the community and a moneymaker to aid Gorham students.

“Let’s shoot for $6,000,” Terry told other board members about setting a goal. “We want to make it a great event.”

In another unique program, a teacher can be recognized in its School Teachers Are Really Special (STARs) program for a $15 donation, and a galaxy of honored teachers is posted on the Web site.

Wentworth said visibility of the Gorham Educational Foundation is increasing. But, she said, the organization is still new and trying to establish fundraising.

Sterling Williams said donations are “100 percent” tax deductible and Wentworth said donors can click a button on its Web site, gorhamef.org to donate.

“We’ll be happy to come pick it up,” Sterling Williams said.

The foundation’s board of directors also includes Janet Wyper. The foundation is seeking additional members for the board, which meets at 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday each month in the School Department, 75 South St. Board meetings are open to the public.

“It’s starting to take root,” Janet Williams said. “We’re being known in the community.

Gorham Educational Foundation members, from left, Secretary Janet Williams, President Kristin Wentworth and a director, Maureen Terry, discuss the grants the foundation makes available to aid education in Gorham. (Staff photo by Robert Lowell)