FARMINGTON – As Project Electrathon revs up for its spring competitions, Franklin Savings Bank has offered to give the team’s fund-raising efforts a jump start.

Franklin Savings has pledged to match any donations, up to $2,000, for the Project Electrathon program at Mt. Blue High School this winter.

Students, teachers, volunteer engineers and supporters from local businesses work to design, build and race a small one-person electric vehicle. The team goal is to build a vehicle capable of setting a new world record.

The Mt. Blue team was able to do so and set a new track record of 50 miles an hour in a recent competition at Loudon, N.H. Before spring races begin, the team needs to gear up for changes in battery requirements while it strives for greater speeds.

To meet its goals, the team estimates it needs to raise $6,000.

“This matching grant is a tremendous fund-raising tool for us,” said John MacDonald, teacher and Project Electrathon coordinator at Mt. Blue. “In the 10 years we have been doing this, Franklin Savings Bank has always been there for us with a donation.”

“It’s a wonderful program. They’ve been unbelievably successful with limited resources and have managed to gain national attention for their work,” said Peter Judkins, executive vice president at Franklin Savings Bank. “John MacDonald should be commended for all the time and resources he puts into this project. It’s a great way to learn by doing and an example of how Yankee ingenuity can overcome financial limitations.”